Health and nutrition programme

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has been providing support to the health sector since the cooperation between the Lao PDR and Luxembourg started in 1997.

The Health and nutrition sectoral programme is the continuation of two previous health sector support initiatives named Lao-Luxembourg health sector support programme.

Health sector interventions under the programme are strongly aligned with the Government of Laos’ priorities in achieving the 9th five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan 2021–2025, Universal Health Coverage by 2025, graduating from Least Developed Country status in 2026, and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Despite remarkable achievements in improving health outcomes, including life expectancy, key indicators such as infant, under-five and maternal mortality from preventable causes are still high and nutrition indicators at the village level are slow to progress.

The specific objective of the preceding programme named Lao-Luxembourg Health Sector Support Programme – Phase II aimed at supporting the implementation of the updated Health Sector Reform Framework 2013–2025, with a specific focus on mother and child health, by fostering and supporting district health systems and actors.

The Health and nutrition programme aims to build on the strengths of the previous programme and will predominantly contribute to the long-term change objective that Lao people demand and have access to an essential health service package – including reproductive maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) and nutrition services – of adequate quality and affordable to all, leaving no one behind, implying that:

• Lao people have “access” to those health services;
• those health services are affordable to all; and
• those health services provided to Lao people are of good quality.

The duration of the programme is five years, starting from January 2023 until December 2027 and the programme has a total budget of EUR 32,443,388, including EUR 4,500,000 for Aide au Développement de la Santé (Health Development Aid), a Luxembourg non-governmental organisation working for more than 20 years in Laos in the field of cardiology.

The programme will uphold a geographic focus on all districts in the three provinces of Bolikhamxay, Khammouane and Vientiane, but aims to deepen interventions to improve overall effectiveness and efficiency. Limited expansion to Bokeo province will interface with both the Local development programme as well as with the United Nation Joint Programme in capacity development and delivery of primary health care via integrated outreach activities in RMNCAH and nutrition.

The primary beneficiaries of the programme are the population of the 3 supported provinces, estimated at over 1,200,000 people across 28 districts (out of 148 nationally). In 2020, the estimated population of Bokeo province was around 203,000 (2.8% of the total population), of which 59% are from non-Lao-Tai ethnic groups. Considering the in focus on RMNCAH, the full population of Bokeo, but especially women of reproductive age and children under the age of five, will be added as main beneficiaries, bringing the total number to almost 1,400,000 people.