This report presents findings from a study assessing the acceptability of locally blended fortified sticky rice in Lao PDR. Led by the Ministry of Health, the study was conducted with technical support from Â鶹ÊÓƵ, facilitation by the Ministry of Education and Sports, and support from the USDA's McGovern-Dole Program.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ Laos Country Office conducted formative research across six provinces in 2025 and 2026 under the leadership of the Ministry of Health of Lao PDR, with support from partners, UN agencies, donors and MAGENTA. The main research report provides the core evidence base, while five complementary documents on gendered behaviours, intersectional barriers, advocacy for reform, policy integration and media communication expand the analysis and translate findings into action. Together, the series frames nutrition as behaviour-driven systems changes, calling for coordinated reform, stronger governance and inclusive communication.
This is a decentralised evaluation of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) McGovern-Dole Grant for School Feeding in Lao PDR (2020-2025).
This summary of evaluation evidence focuses on local and regional procurement (LRP) components under the USDA McGovern-Dole school meals programs in five countries, specifically Cambodia, Kenya, Laos, Nepal and Rwanda.
Evaluations of McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program for Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s School Meals Program in Lao PDR from 2025 to 2029: baseline study, midterm evaluation and endline evaluation.
This decentralized evaluation was commissioned by the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Lao PDR Country Office as the End-line Evaluation of USDA McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program for Â鶹ÊÓƵ School Feeding in Lao PDR from 2017-2022. It was carried out between November 2022 and September 2023.
This paper was developed collaboratively with the Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok (RBB) between July 2022 and May 2023. The paper responds to a desire by Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) to strengthen disability inclusion across its school-based feeding programmes. To date, disability inclusive school-based feeding programmes have been extremely limited in number and in scope, both within and external to Â鶹ÊÓƵ. This means that the evidence base for what works is not extensive. This paper aims to address that gap, informed by data collected from interviews with selected Â鶹ÊÓƵ staff in the region; desk research focusing on Lao People¡¯s Democratic Republic (PDR) and Nepal; and qualitative research with external stakeholders in Lao PDR (in November 2022) and Nepal (in April 2023). Where available, this paper draws on examples observed during field visits to both Lao PDR and Nepal
The study is a part of the research activities of the School Meals Programme under the financial support of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) via McGovern-Dole Programme 2020-2025.
The Lao People¡¯s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) (population 7.2 million in 2021) is a low middle-income Southeast Asia country with a high prevalence of malnutrition, high stunting rates, and widespread micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs).?
The evaluation was commissioned by the Â鶹ÊÓƵ independent Office of Evaluation to provide evaluative evidence for accountability and learning to inform the design of the next Â鶹ÊÓƵ Country Strategic Plan (CSP) in Lao PDR.
The terms of reference aim to inform stakeholders about the evaluation, clarify expectations and requirements and guide the evaluation team in its work during the various phases of the evaluation.
This report presents the findings of the cost-benefit analysis of school meals programmes in Laos carried out jointly by the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ and MasterCard. This details the cost-benefit analysis of school meals throughout a beneficiary's lifetime.
