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Laos
>> Regional Overview >> Laos Overview
Previous Years' Activities
2002
Last updated: 24
THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE: For a generation, U.S. national interests in Laos have focused on three main issues: reducing the cultivation of opium through law enforcement, crop substitution and infrastructure development; finding the remains of U.S. MIAs; and assisting in the removal of unexploded ordinance. All three of these "heritage issues" continue to be important. The long-term U.S. interest is to encourage a transition to representative government with a significantly improved human rights record and a viable, market-based economy. The United States also has a humanitarian interest in addressing the effects of the country’s extreme poverty by providing assistance to improve health and income generation in rural areas. The aim is to help the impoverished people of Laos without helping or lending credence to the one-party Communist regime. The crop substitution programs, particularly those involving sericulture, serve the dual purpose of poverty reduction and opium poppy eradication.
Life expectancy is 54 years; infant mortality is 93 per 1000; and per capita income is just $330. Laos is one of the poorest and least developed countries in East Asia. In 2001, the World Bank estimated that Laos’ 5.6 million people had a per capita income of just $330. Agriculture remains the economic mainstay, contributing 53% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing over 80% of the labor force. Social indicators in Laos, among the worst in the world, are comparable to those of sub-Saharan Africa; e.g. infant mortality in Laos is 93 per 1000 births, compared with an average of 92 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Life expectancy in Laos is under 54 years. According to the available information, Laos currently has a low level of HIV/AIDS. However, systematic and nationwide surveillance for HIV is not yet in place so the future course of the epidemic is uncertain. With Laos being surrounded by countries such as China, Thailand, and Vietnam that have significant numbers of HIV infections and with the current levels international migration, it is very likely that the epidemic will continue to spread in Laos in the absence of appropriate interventions. A significant HIV epidemic would have a serious impact on development efforts in Laos.
The Government of Laos is one of the few remaining official communist states. The country’s economy remains hampered by inadequate infrastructure and deficient health and education services to support its workforce and population. While the government has stated its intention to decentralize control and encourage private enterprise, the transition from a centrally planned and controlled economy to a more market driven one is moving very slowly. The government recognizes that it needs considerable technical assistance, training and donor and private sector investment if it is to modernize its economy and address the critical health, education and employment generation issues. With reforms moving relatively quickly in Vietnam, this may encourage Laos to undertake the necessary reforms, including improving its human rights record, to attract outside support. The continuation of reforms in Vietnam and the increasing availability of Thai broadcasting may create greater incentives for the regime to undertake necessary reforms.
THE USAID PROGRAM: USAID will use $1,000,000 in Development Assistance (DA) funds and $1,000,000 in Child Survival and Health (CSH) funds in FY 2002 and requests $2,000,000 in DA for FY 2003. In 1999, USAID launched the Laos Economic Acceleration Program for the Silk Sector (LEAPSS). This program was built on experiences developed under the Lao-American Crop Control Program, and has the specific objective of making the production of raw and processed silk a viable economic alternative to opium production. Program activities have expanded the area under mulberry cultivation and increased the volume of silk produced. Activities also assist with improving the processing and marketing of raw silk and silk weavings, to improve the status of women weavers and increase profitability for silk producers. Program activities focus efforts in two provinces where some of the most intensive fighting occurred in Laos during the war. This program is presently funded through FY 2003. The program partner is World Education/World Learning Consortium.
USAID's other objective in Laos is to maintain the low levels of HIV prevalence by strengthening the local capacity to monitor the epidemic and behaviors contributing to its spread while also educating those at risk and highlighting the importance of prevention. Through Regional HIV/AIDS Programs in the Asia and Near East Bureau, USAID has supported a small number of HIV/AIDS activities in Laos since 1998. In addition, the Regional HIV/AIDS Programs have supported cross-border activities (involving Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam) in order to expand surveillance and educate mobile populations on HIV prevention. These activities will now be funded under the new SO 439-005.
ONGOING PROGRAMS FOR WHICH NO FY 2002 OR FY 2003 FUNDING IS REQUESTED: None.
OTHER PROGRAM ELEMENTS: In addition to the LEAPSS program, USAID supports four other activities through regional and global programs.
- The Leahy War Victims Fund supports the Laos War Victims Assistance which has, since 1990, programmed more than $6.5 million to support the refurbishing of emergency care facilities, training of emergency care staff, and financial support for civilians injured by war era unexploded ordnance.
- The Asia and Near East Bureau’s Regional HIV/AIDS and Infectious Diseases program supports activities directed at slowing the cross-border transmission of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria between Thailand and Laos, and between Vietnam and Laos. Program partners are Family Health International and Population Services International.
- The East Asia and Pacific Environmental Initiative supports a small community-based wildlife management program in Laos. The program partner is Conservation International.
- USAID’s worldwide human capacity development program is helping improve the institutional capacity in Laos to train physicians in the primary specialties of pediatrics and internal medicine. USAID’s partner is Case Western University.
OTHER DONORS: Donor coordination is good. USAID coordinates activities with Japan, Germany, Sweden, France, Australia, and Norway. Bilateral donor efforts focus on education, health, and rural development. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank focus on the financial sector and state-owned enterprise reforms needed to create an enabling environment for private sector development.
Program Data Sheets
- 439-004 Laos Economic Acceleration Program for the Silk Sector
- 439-005 Strengthen the Laos National Response to HIV/AIDS
Country Background Information Resources
CIA Factbook
Library of CongressNational Geographic Country Maps
State Dept. Country Information
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
