© WFP/Jake Herrle
Lao People's Democratic Republic
A mountainous, landlocked country, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is one of the most sparsely populated countries in Asia. Its predominantly rural population lives in over 10,000 villages – most of which have but a few hundred inhabitants – in remote areas. Due to difficult access, people in these scattered communities face challenges to access essential services.
In recent years, Lao PDR ranked as one of the fastest growing economies in East Asia and the Pacific, but the benefits are not evenly spread across regions. Although the proportion of hungry poor fell from 33 to 23 percent in the last decade, the 2015 Global Hunger Index still defines the situation in the country as “serious”.
What the World Food Programme is doing in Lao PDR
Capacity strengthening
To ensure enhanced service delivery – especially in hard-to-reach areas – by 2025, WFP provides technical support to government institutions and strengthens the capacity of villagers to prepare three-year multi-sectoral, nutrition-sensitive village development plans enabling communities to ensure food and nutrition security with their own resources.
School meals
WFP supports the Lao Government in promoting access to food for schoolchildren in 1,500 schools with the goal to improve education indicators, especially in remote and ethnically diverse areas. The school meals programme is designed in a way to become sustainable by involving local farmers and communities in the provision of food.
Nutrition
In order to bring stunting rates in the areas most severely affected by malnutrition in line with the 25 percent national target by 2025, WFP works to build the capacity of institutions to promote better nutrition; explore options for locally available and affordable nutritious food; address specific requirements of children under 2 by providing fortified food; and promote better infant and child feeding practices.
Resilience building
In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and partner NGOs, WFP works to enhance climate-adaptive local food production; strengthen the capacity of smallholder farmers through diversified and improved agricultural practices; support programmes for the creation of assets and the provision of alternative livelihood options for vulnerable communities.
In focus
Lao People's Democratic Republic news releases
Go to pagePartners and donors
Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in Lao PDR is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:Find out more about the state of food security in Lao People's Democratic Republic
Visit the food security analysis pageOperations in Lao People's Democratic Republic
Contacts
Vientiane
Vientiane Country Office Don Nokhoum Road, Don Nokhoum Village, Sisattanak District, Vientiane Capital
Phone: +856 21 330300 - 6
Fax: +856 21 486039/+856 21 330307