Improving Coverage and Utilization of Maternal and Child Health Services in Lao PDR
The World Bank supported the community nutrition project (CNP) in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) from 2009 to 2013, ostensibly to respond to the global food crisis of 2007-08. The evaluation finds an attributable effect on only one of the six formal project indicators: children in intervention areas were more likely to receive full diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT) vaccines. This impact evaluation seeks to address whether the CNP can make causal claims to improving indicators related to its six stated project development objective measurements for mothers and children under two years old: antenatal care visits, institutional delivery, well-child checkups, breastfeeding, immunization, and diarrhea oral rehydration solutions. The results of quasi-experimental impact evaluation methods indicate that although general effects for these outcomes are mixed, the project shows improvements for the poorest 40 percent of the population.