Laos

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,414 social protection measures have been either planned or implemented across 222 countries or territories as of December 2021. These included various social assistance, social insurance, and labor market measures. Social assistance measures constituted 55 per cent of such measures on average (in East Asia and Pacific, it is higher at 61 per cent and South Asia, it is at 70 per cent) and within that, 42 per cent were cash transfers (Gentilini and others, 2020).

Providing education cash assistance for poor and disadvantaged students in remote areas with a focus on the year of transition from primary to lower secondary school supported social behaviour change through increased students’ confidence and motivation to complete secondary school and reduced early marriage.

This policy brief presents key results from two evaluations conducted by World Vision internally in 2021 and from a research consultant (Education Consulting Company - ECC) in 2022.

The Fiduciary Risk Assessment and Value for Money Study of Payments in Lao PDR looks at the feasibility and riskiness of five existing or potential payment mechanisms to deliver money reliably and efficiently over the last mile and into the hands of people. The five mechanisms are cash, village banks, public and commercial banks, digital wallets, and Blockchain. The findings can be applied to social welfare and social insurance payments as well as emergency cash transfers.

This law defines the principles, rules, and provisions for the organisation, implementation, management and inspection of the social security with a view systematically, strengthening and effectiveness to protect the rights and interests of employers and employees by paying contributions and providing social security benefits in order to ensure basic livelihoods, social solidarity and contribute to the socio-economic development of the nation.

[AP9]

Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate change, while conflicts are driving consistent and unsustainable increases in humanitarian needs. Combined, they are pushing acute hunger to new heights reaching a five-year high in 2020. A strategic shift from responding to predictable shocks to anticipating their impacts has the potential to break the cycle of growing dependence on humanitarian aid.

In less than a decade, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has made remarkable progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by expanding social health protection to a large proportion of its population. To date, more than 90 percent of population coverage has been achieved. The rapid expansion of social health protection in the country is the result of a strong political commitment to achieving UHC and its financing modalities.

This publication offers a comprehensive regional-level analysis and gives a rundown of how eight Southeast Asian countries dealt with and are now beginning to recover from COVID-19.