Causes and Effects of Malnutrition in Laos and Implications Regarding the Development of this Nation Paul Alessi, Stavros Rizakos and Megan Ylagan

Laos ●Landlocked country in southeast Asia ●Population: 6.8 mil ●GNI per capita: $4,550 o US: 53,750 ●85% of population works in agriculture ●Result of constant war and political instability ●1997- Joined ASEAN

Government in Laos ●Communist government which until recently had a centrally controlled economy, and has now implemented a weak market economy ●Laotian government cannot provide adequate services to the people o Corruption ●Over half of the government budget is provided by external assistance o Inability to act self-sufficiently ●Lack of sufficient infrastructure and limits on education cripple the production market

What is Malnutrition? ●Almost a billion people go hungry every day and a further billion people are undernourished ●Globally the most important risk factor for illness and death ●1 billion people go hungry every day and a further billion people are undernourished ●Affects school performance and studies have shown it often leads to a lower income as an adult

Causes of Malnutrition ●3 main causes o Poor diet o Access o Food shortages ●Mostly in rural areas ●Poor feeding practices

Effects of Malnutrition ●Vitamin deficiencies cause poor eyesight and sometimes when their eyes bother them enough and if they can afford it a person will have one of their eyes removed ●Weight loss due to depletion of fat and muscle mass, including organ mass, is often the most obvious sign of malnutrition ●Can cause psychosocial effects such as apathy, depression, anxiety and self-neglect.

Laos as a Developing Country ●One of the ten poorest countries in the world ●Main development challenge is ensuring that the benefits from high economic growth ●Slow to develop an open market economy o All of which contribute to its continued high rate of malnutrition ●80 percent of the population lives in rural areas, where communities are dependent on agricultural and natural resources, leaving them vulnerable to food insecurity and undernutrition

Alarming Malnutrition Levels in Laos

Malnutrition in Laos ●Children commonly have distended abdomens, and many die from cases of diarrhea ●Laos’s nationwide stunting average is 44 percent among under-fives, and stunting rates are as high as 58 percent in the northern highland provinces ●Lao People’s Democratic Republic has one of the highest consumptions of rice per capita in the world which lacks adequate nutrients ●Laos struggles with the second-highest rate of malnutrition in East Asia and the Pacific

Perpetual Cycle of Malnutrition ●Malnutrition is not only effect of underdevelopment, but is also a cause ●Malnutrition has detrimental effects on life expectancy ●Low life expectancy decreases average worker productivity ●Low worker productivity results in less development and lack of necessary resources ●Malnutrition is cause and effect of Underdevelopment

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