Report

COVID-19 RISKS AND VULNERABILITIES IN LAO PDR

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic first emerged as a health crisis but has rapidly evolved into a global crisis, threatening survival – economically, socially, politically and epidemiologically – with grave consequences for human development, economic stability and sustenance. In Lao PDR, soon after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in March 2020, the Government swiftly implemented a nationwidelockdown which was gradually lifted from mid-May. As a result, the epidemiological impact of the pandemic on Lao has not been severe. As of December 2020, the country has been relatively unaffected by the health shock of the pandemic and the number of cases has been significantly lower compared with other parts of the world. Lao PDR has also been acknowledged as one of the countries that achieved sustained successes in suppressing the epidemic by using non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI).

The impact of the pandemic in Lao has been predominantly socioeconomic due to the breakdown in domestic and regional supply chains, business closures, livelihood disruptions and income losses. Almost 500,000 people are estimated to have lost their jobs and 383,000 people are expected to fall back into
poverty. In addition, food insecurity levels are expected to escalate as COVID-19 compounds an existing food security crisis that has been building up for the past two years. Further, disruptions in education for 1.7 million learners across the country is expected to have long-term ramifications in terms of large-scale
learning losses.

Overall, the pandemic has “seriously affected Vientiane’s development objectives, exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and disrupted progress towards smooth graduation from least developed country status,” according to the Prime minister’s address during the UN General Assembly plenary on 3 December 2020. The impact of the crisis has been unprecedented and governments around the world are navigating important choices and thinking through the contours of the new normal. More caveats, assumptions and speculations feed into every policy choice, which will affect the rate of economic recovery.

This report serves to provide background on risk and vulnerabilities affecting children, adolescents and women in Lao PDR and to identify the factors that put the country (and these groups) at risk epidemiologically, economically and socially in the context of COVID-19. The report utilizes a life cycle approach to risk and is structured as follows: Section one presents the overall situation in Lao PDR in the context of COVID-19, highlighting the macroeconomic scenario, labour market context, demographic context, poverty and deprivation, health context, food security and nutrition and explores risks that affect individuals and families (across life cycle stages). Section two presents a life cycle approach to risk and vulnerability, highlighting pre-existing vulnerabilities by age cohort and how the COVID-19 pandemic has (and could in the future) intensify vulnerabilities for children, adolescents and women across Lao PDR.