Essential health care for children in Northern Laos

In the face of one of the world’s highest child and neonatal mortality rates, Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC) in Luang Prabang, Northern Laos, stands as the sole pediatric hospital in the region, delivering free high-quality health care to tens of thousands of children each year. 

The hospital also serves as a reference center for health care education, collaborating with other hospitals in the country to offer consultations and professional training. In a significant partnership with UNICEF, LFHC is recognized as the premier provider of malnutrition treatment in Laos and is involved in training other provincial hospitals to ensure implementation of the national malnutrition guidelines.

Building on long-running collaboration between the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and Friends Without a Border, which operates the hospital, a recent SNF grant made as part of its Global Health Initiative (GHI) has helped meet urgent medical needs at LFHC. The grant covered a year’s operating costs for LFHC's Pediatric Laboratory, which conducts diagnostic testing for the hospital’s patients, as well as the acquisition of essential medical equipment including infant warmers, continuous positive air pressure machines, and syringe pumps.