Investing in better data systems is critical to maximize the impact of social protection programs as more and more countries around the world are aiming to not only reduce poverty and inequality but also to achieve Universal Social Protection (USP). Globally the expansion of social safety net...

Despite persistent macroeconomic instability, economic growth continued to recover in 2023, underpinned largely by a steady improvement in the service sector. GDP growth is forecast at 3.7 percent in 2023, slightly down from the projection in May 2023, primarily reflecting higher-than-expected...

The Lao PDR is facing unprecedented macroeconomic challenges, which jeopardize hard-won development gains. Over the past two decades, the country attracted considerable foreign investment and fostered regional integration, which contributed to a long period of high economic growth. Many human...

In 2015, Lao PDR is virtually unrecognizable from what it was just a decade ago. A more open, more outward trade landscape has transformed the country from a closed-off backwater into a fast-growing developing country, complete with coffee shops, restaurants, and billboards lining the streets of...

Rice is an important agricultural product and food staple in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), especially for its three low-income members - Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. These countries are net exporters of rice, similar to their more advanced neighbors, Thailand and Vietnam, but their rice...

While on-track for child health and maternal health MDGs, Lao PDR continues to have some of the worst maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes, both globally and in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region. Under-five and infant mortality rates are high relative to GDP per capita, and utilization...

Lao PDR has made notable progress in improving maternal health, with materanal mortality decreasing from 1,600 per 100,000 births in 1990 to 220 in 2013.1 However, in order for further gains to be realized, at least two barriers need to be addressed - the low utilization of maternal health (MH)...

This policy note provides an overview of government health financing in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), with an added focus on health center financing. The note summarizes overall trends in health outcomes and government health financing over 2000-2014 and analyzes trends in planned...

Under nutrition levels in Lao PDR remain among the highest in the world, despite both rapid economic growth and a significant decline in poverty over the past years. Concerns about the slow progress in reducing under nutrition have triggered intense policy discussion and several analytical...