The SUN Business Network (SBN) aims to increase the availability and affordability of safe, nutritious foods to consumers, especially low-income consumers through activities at global and national levels. At a national level, the SBN convenes businesses, assesses technical, financial and other business support service needs for members, and advocates the role of business in addressing nutrition at country level. Read More
The SUN Business Network (SBN) aims to increase the availability and affordability of safe, nutritious foods to consumers, especially low-income consumers through activities at global and national levels. At a national level, the SBN convenes businesses, assesses technical, financial and other business support service needs for members, and advocates the role of business in addressing nutrition at country level. At a global level, the SBN acts as a focal point for engaging multinational businesses in nutrition activities such as making workplace nutrition commitments.Read More
The SUN Business Network (SBN) aims to increase the availability and affordability of safe, nutritious foods to consumers, especially low-income consumers through activities at global and national levels. At a national level, the SBN convenes businesses, assesses technical, financial and other business support service needs for members, and advocates the role of business in addressing nutrition at country level.Read More
Emerging networks are in SUN Countries where the government has made a commitment to ending malnutrition through a multi-stakeholder approach and private sector companies have begun to mobilise their support for a multistakeholder, multisectoral approach to improving nutrition. Read More
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In April 2011, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) joined the SUN Movement and by 2016, the Government of Laos began to mobilise support and engage with the private sector. By 2018, with the support of the World Food Programme (WFP), the SUN Business Network Lao PDR was launched and now, with 35 members and a number of initiatives under way, this network is making strides towards improved nutrition in their country. https://www.facebook.com/SUNBusinessLaos/
While the proportion of people who are hungry in Lao PDR has reduced, and stunting rates among children under 5 declined significantly from 2012 to 2019, the triple burden of malnutrition remains a major challenge in Lao PDR. One third of children under 5 are stunted – a very high proportion compared with the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark. The prevalence of wasting in children under 5 increased from 6 percent in 2012 to 9 percent in 2018. Concurrently, anemia affects 44 percent of children under 5 and almost 40 percent of women and girls of reproductive age (15–49 years), making it a severe public health problem. Changing food environments have led to an increase in overweight and obesity, with 15.7 percent of children and adolescents age 5–19 classified as overweight. Health and nutrition indicators also vary considerably across the 49 ethnic groups and tend to be worse for non-Lao-Thai groups, who are twice as likely to live in poverty according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic and the current global economic and food crisis will further worsen the country‘s nutrition and food security status, having serious implications for children and for human capital development.
The SBN in Lao PDR is led by the National Nutrition Committee Secretariat, and supported by WFP and the European Union (EU), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Save the Children.
SBN Lao PDR’s strategy aligns with the government’s National Nutrition Policy to 2025, and is based upon four key priorities identified through intensive research and analysis of the private sector landscape.
In alignment with these focal areas, the network’s primary activities are:
