Day: July 19, 2021

The European Union – EU – and Humanity and Inclusion have decided to provide over US$ 1.4 million to support a project “Sowing the Seeds of Inclusive Education” for children with developmental disabilities which will be implemented in Huaphan and Champassak.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the project was signed last Friday between Director General of the Department of External Relations under the Ministry of Education and Sports Silinthone Saklorkham, and Country Operations Manager of Humanity and Inclusion Reinier Carabain.

Commenced on Jul 16, 2021, the project will be implemented through September 30, 2024 in Xamneua and Viengxay districts of Huaphan province and Pakse and Bachieng districts of Champassak province.

The project’s activities aim to strengthen the capacities of two Civil Society Organisations – the Association for Autism and the Intellectual Disability Association.

Source: Lao News Agency

The Ministry of Health reported on Monday 114 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total in the country to 3,540.

Deputy Director of the Department of Communicable Disease Control under the Ministry of Health Phonepaseuth Sayamoungkhoun told a press conference in Vientiane.

Among the imported cases, 65 cases were reported in Savannakhet, 43 cases in Champassak, three in Vientiane, two in Khammuan and one in Borikhamxay.

More than 191.2 million Covid-19 cases have been recorded worldwide since late 2019 including over 4.10 million deaths and over 174,183,000 recoveries, according to the https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus

Source: Lao News Agency

Individuals and organsiations have donated cash and other relief items to help people affected by recent flooding in the northwestern province of Xayaboury.

The donors included Lao-German Friendship Association donating 10 million kip each to Pong Primary School, Bung Primary School, Simungkhoun Primary School, Nayao Primary School and Xayaboury District Kindergarten, and more than 6 million kip to the Provincial Disaster Management Committee.

The Lao Khene Association donated 10 million kip in cash and consumer goods worth 39 million kip.

At a handover ceremony held on Jul 17, Governor of Xayaboury Province Phongsavanh Sitthavong expressed thanks to the donors for helping alleviate the suffering of the flood victims.

Nine villages in Xayaboury district, Xayaboury province encountered severe flooding in mid June following days of torrential rain.

The flooding affected over 3,000 people in the villages of Nayao, Nator Yai, Nong Seng, Boung, Thin, Pong, Simueng, and Simoungkhoun.

Source: Lao News Agency

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing unprecedented human and economic costs in all countries and societies across the world.

Based on the current and evolving situation in the Lao PDR, COVID-19 cases have been fluctuating on daily basis, despite the ongoing rollout of its vaccination drive.

It is the exact reason why there is a need to scale up the communication efforts by emphasizing on the importance to trust the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, to get vaccinated and to continue practicing COVID appropriate behaviour irrespective of vaccination.

The Centre for Communication and Education for Health (CCEH) at the Ministry of Health (MOH) in collaboration with the National Immunization Programme (NIP), the Mass Media Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (MICT), UNICEF and WHO has developed an integrated approach to communication for COVID-19 vaccination, which includes strategic and risk communication and social mobilization activities.

A media briefing was held last Friday in Vientiane to brief the media on COVID-19 vaccination efforts, while continue building trust on vaccine safety and effectiveness. The media briefing also updated the senior editors about the revised vaccination target set by the government for 2021 and about the COVAX-supported vaccines.

The briefing also aimed to enrich the understanding of the senior editors on the COVID-19 vaccination efforts led by the Government, including vaccination targets, key messages, vaccination rollout and COVAX supported vaccines. This is expected to result in sharing updated, simple and concise information to the audience.

“Nevertheless, as you can see, the daily number of COVID-19 cases in the Lao PDR is still fluctuating despite the ongoing rollout of vaccinations throughout the country. Therefore, it is crucial that we continue to push our national vaccination drive and scale up our communication efforts by emphasizing the safety and effectiveness of vaccines so that more people will get their COVID-19 vaccination and continue to practice COVID-appropriate behaviour before and after vaccination,” said Ms. Beate Dastel, UNICEF Representative to the Lao PDR.

“The media can play a major role and have a strong influence in shaping public sentiment and understanding around COVID-19 vaccines. The media can also reach a wide range of audiences based on the existing platforms and their accessibility, with digital media becoming increasingly favored by the younger demographic,” she explained.

However, with the rise of digital media, where vast quantities of information and data is now easily accessible to almost everyone, the risk of misinformation and false news is greater than ever before. These obstacles can greatly impede the vaccination rollout against COVID-19 in the Lao PDR and subsequently our ability to bring a swift end to this pandemic.

Source: Lao News Agency

The 4th Project Review Committee (PRC) meeting of the ARISE Plus Lao PDR project was organised on July 15, 2021 in Vientiane.

Co-chaired by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) and the European Union Delegation to the Lao PDR, the project has the International Trade Centre as an implementing agency.

More than 50 participants from the public and private sectors joined the meeting both in-person and online. The meeting presented the progress of project implementation including key achievements, challenges, and discussed the priorities.

The meeting of the project review committee and ARISE Plus Lao PDR’s stakeholders aims to ensure the project is going according to the agreed plan. Moreover, the implementing agency introduced and discussed the work plan for the remaining period of 2021 to stakeholders at the meeting.

The ASEAN Regional Integration Support from the EU – Lao PDR is also known as ARISE Plus Lao PDR. The project began in 2018 with the commitment to improve the country’s overall business environment and to increase its participation in global value chains, mainly in two sectors: coffee and wood processing. Ultimately, it aims to contribute to inclusive economic growth, increased climate change resilience, mitigation of vulnerability and job creation in the Lao PDR.

The project’s key achievements in the past six months (January – June 2021) were presented. Namely, the minister’s endorsement of the two sector export roadmaps for wood processing and coffee sectors; a series of training for both sectors were and continue to be conducted; the Lao PDR Foreign Trade Negotiations Roadmap was validated; the smooth operation of the Quality Champions Programme in fully online and hybrid mode among others.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Somchith Inthamith noted in his opening remarks “From the PRC Report, I’m pleased to learn that the implementation of the wider range activities in all three areas of the project interventions namely the regional economic integration; awareness on trade preference for export; and value chains development are progressing well despite the impact of Covid-19 restrictions”.

Ambassador of the European Union to the Lao PDR Ina Marciulionyte underscored the importance of the ARISE + Lao PDR project to tackle issues ranging from coordination amongst stakeholders to enhancing capacity of private sector in target sectors – coffee and wood-processing –, and its contribution to a sustainable and inclusive economic growth of the country.

Amidst economic downturn caused by COVID-19 pandemic, the project has successfully delivered a wide range of trainings and workshops to private and public sector representatives with the ultimate objective to increase exports of target sectors and to meet the requirements of the EU market.

As the project enters its 2-year of implementation, her remarks also calls for cooperation from stakeholders with the mid-term evaluation team in a way to improve the performance of the project for the reaming period and also to contribute to EU’s future programmes.

Ambassador Ina Marciulionyte replied by congratulating the Ministry of Industry and Commerce for the success of the event, the collaborative and consultative design process, and the comprehensiveness of the Coffee Sector Export Roadmap that was launched earlier this month. “It is an instrumental tool to increase exports of quality coffee to Europe and the world. It will also be key for leveraging impact and increasing economic opportunities for some specific target groups, such as youth and women”.

The ongoing global crisis poses challenges to the project inevitably. However, since the last Project Review Committee Meeting in last December, the implementation of activities accelerated considerably and reached the highest implementation rate since the commence of the ARISE Plus project.

A total of 16 training courses and workshops covering various trade issues was conducted in the past six months. These events were attended by a large number of participants from line ministries, and from public and private organisations. Besides, the feedback received from participants has been predominantly positive.

Later, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce representative presented the work plan for the next six months. This meeting also offered a suitable opportunity for project partners and stakeholders to discuss openly, share their thoughts, raise their concerns and propose solutions for the next steps of the project.

Source: Lao News Agency

Today, U.S. Ambassador to Lao PDR Peter M. Haymond handed over more than one million doses of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen (J&J/Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine donated by the United States through the COVAX Facility and delivered by UNICEF to the Government of the Lao PDR in an official ceremony at the Wattay International Airport chaired by Vice President of Lao PDR Pany Yathotou.

Minister of Health Bounfeng Phoummalaysith, WHO Officer-in-Charge to Lao PDR Gao Jun, and UNICEF Representative a.i. to Lao PDR Beate Dastel, as well as other partners also attended the handover ceremony.

This latest shipment of vaccines is part of the United States’ contribution to the ongoing global efforts to end the pandemic, and support for Lao PDR’s goal to vaccinate 50 per cent of its population by the end of 2021.

“The Government of Lao PDR highly values the continued efforts of the Government of the United States of America and the American people in assisting the Government and the Lao people. This assistance, in the form of COVID-19 donated doses, is a clear indication of the good cooperation between our two countries, the Lao PDR and the United States of America, under the comprehensive partnership. I am confident that the arrival of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines will accelerate the efforts to reach 50 per cent of the population in 2021,” remarked Vice President Pany Yathotou.

With this donation of 1,008,000 doses, which is a direct contribution from the American people to the Lao PDR, the Lao Government will be able to provide protection against the virus to more than one million people, out of the country’s approximately 7 million total population.

The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine differs from other types of COVID-19 vaccines currently available in Lao PDR as it only requires a single dose. In addition, the J&J/Janssen vaccine can be stored at regular refrigeration temperatures, which makes it ideally suited for immunizing populations in rural or hard-to-reach areas.

“I am proud to represent the United States Government in providing these lifesaving vaccines to the people of the Lao PDR,” remarked US Ambassador to the Lao PDR Peter M. Haymond. “Today’s donation will ensure that more than one million additional Lao people – approximately 14 per cent of the Lao PDR population – will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This brings the Lao PDR closer to its goal of vaccinating 50 per cent of its population by the end of 2021, and brings the world closer to ending this pandemic,” he added.

The Lao PDR Government will use these J&J/Janssen doses to first vaccinate priority groups, including people above 60 years of age, people with underlying health conditions, and health workers across the country, in line with the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan and further plan for its use to other target population, including those in remote and hard to reach areas.

“Ensuring equitable access to vaccines and vaccinating the world’s most vulnerable has been the key priorities for WHO. The United States’ support is very timely as it comes at a time when the country needs it most and will help bring the vaccines to those most in need in hard-to-reach areas,” said WHO Officer-in-Charge to Lao PDR Gao Jun.

“Vaccines save lives as progress in childhood immunization over the last decades has shown. Thus, it brings me joy to see the steady progress we are collectively making towards vaccinating the Lao population. I would like to thank the United States of America, particularly the U.S. Embassy in Lao PDR and USAID, for their generous contribution. Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines represents the clearest pathway out of this pandemic for all of us, children included. As the virus mutates producing new variants, the need to join hands to defeat it is even greater. Donating doses now is a smart policy that speaks to our collective best interests,” stated UNICEF Representative a.i. to Lao PDR Beate Dastel.

In addition to this latest shipment of the J&J/Janssen vaccines, Lao PDR previously received a shipment of 132,000 doses of Astra Zeneca / Oxford COVID-19 vaccines in March 2021 and also a shipment of 100,620 doses of Pfizer BioNTech vaccines in early June 2021, both of which were procured through the COVAX Facility.

Source: Lao News Agency