Attachments
Cambodia
Cambodia has sustained high levels of economic growth over the last two decades and is considered to be on the path to achieve the status of a higher middle-income status country by 2030. However, economic growth is marred by high levels of inequality and the debilitating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local economies, particularly the marginalized rural populations. These populations are extremely vulnerable and have faced the most severe effects on employment, household wages and non-wage incomes - impacts that are significantly larger than macro-economic trends would suggest (UNICEF, 2021).
Cambodia has remained categorized as a least developed country (LDC) by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2021. According to the Asian Development Bank in 2021, the prevalence of undernourishment across the country was 14.5 per cent (2017–2019); stunting among children under 5 years of age was 32.4 per cent (2014); and wasting among children under 5 years of age was 9.7 per cent (2014). Maternal mortality ratio reaches 160 per 100,000 live births (2017), while the under-5 mortality rate is 27 per 1,000 live births) (2019) and neonatal mortality stands at 15 per 1,000 live births). As of 2017, the proportion of the population using safely managed drinking water services was 25.8 per cent, with considerable differences between urban (56.6 per cent) and rural (16.7 per cent) populations.
The Cambodian Red Cross is one of the National Societies implementing the European Commission’s Humanitarian Office (ECHO)’s Pilot Programmatic Partnership (PPP). There has been significant progress in-country with lead support in Cambodia provided by the Finnish Red Cross. To date, the programme has provided support for capacity building in disaster risk management (DRM), epidemic preparedness, CEA, for PGI policy development and for the preparation of a migration & displacement assessment. However, the project will not continue beyond May 2023. The migration and displacement assessment will be led by a national consultant.
The cross-border HIV/AIDs project between Cambodia and Lao PDR also started during the reporting period. There has been continued support to the Cambodian Red Cross from the IFRC to ensure the development of Youth and Volunteering and PGI policies.
Cambodian Red Cross has also been very proactive in the preparation and organization of the South East Asia leaders meeting, that the National Society will host in September 2023.
Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR)
Like its neighbouring countries, Lao PDR’s poverty rate has declined significantly from 46 per cent in 1993 to 18 per cent in 2019, compared with a rapid Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to an annual average rate of 7.3 per cent during the same period. Furthermore, the population of Lao PDR is 7.5 million people (105th in global ranking in 2022) and its GDP ranks 133rd worldwide (Data source: World Bank).
In December 2021, the launching of the high-speed railway from Vientiane to the border with the People’s Republic of China was a major step in turning the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia into a connected hub in the region.
In addition, in 2022 after achieving a high vaccination rollout rate, most of the measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in country were relaxed, including the opening of international borders. However, this coincided with a period of global macroeconomic instability, with soaring food, fertilizer, fuel prices and financial costs (“the 4F crisis”) and a sharp depreciation in the national currency. This affected all aspects of national development, particularly as Lao PDR depends on imports for its key commodities, such as fuel, food, and medicines. This resulted in a rapid increase in domestic inflation, reaching a record 39 per cent by the end of the year.
The new Prime Minister of Lao PDR was appointed in 2022 and immediately committed to improve macroeconomic stability, pursue sustainable development, prioritize poverty alleviation, and narrow inequalities. (Data source: UN Country Annual Results Report 2022).
During the first half of 2023, the Lao Red Cross has focused on implementing and monitoring its DREF funded flood response, followed by a lesson learn workshop at the end of the operation. Following this DREF operation, which ended in February 2023, Lao Red Cross focused on strengthening its relevant staff and volunteer capacities in readiness for the next monsoon season, providing them with DREF-funded training and simulation exercises in the Champassak, Khammuan, and Luangprabang branches. These exercises have focused on search & rescue, water rescue, fire extinguishing, First Aid, patient transportation and rapid relief distribution.
Lao Red Cross has completed two critical self-assessment process with support from the IFRC, as part of its National Society Development (NSD) work: the Branch Organizational Capacity Assessment (BOCA) and the Preparedness for Effective Response (PER) assessment. Their related recommendations will guide Lao Red Cross in its NSD strategy and plan in the years to come.
During this reporting period, Lao Red Cross has continued to disseminate its Red Cross Law, the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement’s Principles and values, and the National Society’s auxiliary role in country to the public through social media, radio and television. Lao Red Cross also raised funds, both internationally and domestically, to support its humanitarian services.
The key achievements in Health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) during this reporting period were the implementation of an emergency WASH project and a First Aid project as key parts of the National Society’s “Strengthening Health Capacity”, which aimed to strengthen its effective response to disasters, injuries and illnesses in Lao PDR.
Lao Red Cross also increased its preparedness efforts for the monsoon season, which starts in August 2023) via the Red Ready project, with funding from USAID’s BHA and technical support from the IFRC.
There has also been progress in the development of the IFRC’s legal status in country, which is planned to be finalized by the end of 2023.
Thailand
Over the last four decades, Thailand has made remarkable progress in social and economic development, moving from a low-income country to an upper-income country in less than a generation. It has the second largest economy in Southeast Asia propelled mainly by its manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism industries. Although poverty has declined over the last three decades from 65 per cent in 1988 to nearly 10 per cent in 2018, income inequality has increased. The country remains at risk of major disasters, including floods, tropical cyclones, and droughts. Other risks that have been identified are mainly related to health issues or crises, which have caused economic loss as well as loss of lives. The major health risks include pandemics, non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases (e.g., malaria and tuberculosis) as well as road traffic accidents.
Thailand’s general election took place in May 2023, and as of July 2023, the Parliament is actively selecting a new Prime Minister.
The key achievements made by the Thai Red Cross Society under this Unified Plan 2023 reporting period were made as part of the “Enhancing DRR capacity in Thailand” project funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). This:
• supported Thai Red Cross to enhance the PhonPhai application system to expand it across the country and to improved its database for vulnerable groups database within the system to prioritize assistance during disaster and crisis
• strengthened Thai Red Cross’s preparedness for effective response and enhanced community resilience In addition, in the area of health and with funding from the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the IFRC supported the National Society’s health services, by developing its Biometrics Authentication System to record and store the vaccination data of undocumented people living in Thailand when vaccinated.
In term of capacity building, the IFRC also supported Thai Red Cross personnel to attend several workshops and professional training, for instance in Protection, Gender and Inclusion (PGI) and Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA), Kobo training as part of a DREF operation, and Enhanced Voucher and Cash Assistance (eVCA) training as stand-alone training organized by IFRC Asia Pacific Regional Office (APRO).
Viet Nam
Viet Nam is counted as one of the fastest growing economies of the 21st century and its economic and political reforms, launched in 1986, have spurred rapid economic growth and development, and transformed Viet Nam from one of the world’s poorest nations to a lower middle-income country. Viet Nam has made significant progress on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a reduction in poverty rates from nearly 10 per cent in 2015 to less than 7 per cent in 2017 and a primary education net enrolment rate of 99 per cent. Viet Nam is also one of the countries most affected by Climate Change. It is at continuous risk of natural disasters, including floods, tropical cyclones, landslides, droughts, and heatwaves.
Over the past two years, changes made by the Government of Viet Nam in terms of its policies towards international aid and external funding, have significantly impacted the process for and progress around receiving and implementing externally funded projects, and Viet Nam Red Cross is one of many organizations to have been impacted by this. As a result, any funding support to Viet Nam Red Cross must be submitted to the relevant ministries for a technical opinion and approval, and in some cases the process can take a few months or even longer. All Viet Nam Red Cross’s partners are facing challenges around these changes, which significantly delay the progress of implementation.
Consecutive storms and floods affected thousands of people in central Viet Nam in 2022. 50,000 affected people received assistance from Viet Nam Red Cross through the distribution of relief kits and cash through a DREF allocation of CHF 568,263, with this project running into 2023.
One of main achievements of Viet Nam Red Cross so far this year has been the Greening Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) initiative funded by USAID and with technical support from the American Red Cross at country level). This innovative programme has been extended for another three years (including a cost extension) and will be supported by the IFRC country cluster delegation as of quarter three of 2023.
There has also been significant progress in preparing for the Asia Pacific Conference which Viet Nam Red Cross will host in November 2023 - a major commitment for the National Society.