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Overview
WFP supports vulnerable populations amidst global crisis
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic faced economic, social and climate-related headwinds in 2023, compromising its recovery from the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and progress towards becoming a middle-income country. The country's macroeconomic environment deteriorated amid a global food, fuel, finance and fertilizer crisis, leading to soaring inflation, currency depreciation, high external debt and dwindling fiscal revenues. As a result, public social sector spending decreased, affecting access to health, education and social assistance, while the increased cost of living pushed a sizeable part of the population to use negative coping strategies to make ends meet, such as spending savings, borrowing money, or eating less preferred foods. The 2023 monsoon season compounded the degraded economic and social environments by bringing floods and landslides to parts of the country, affecting the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in twelve provinces.
Under its five-year Country Strategic Plan (CSP 2022-26), WFP pursued a twin track of strengthening the Government's policies and systems to address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition, while developing community-based programmes tackling their underlying causes and meeting immediate food needs.
Throughout the year, WFP assisted over 390,000 people with food (4,600 mt), cash (USD 246,863), technical support on nutrition and other forms of assistance, representing 37 percent more direct beneficiaries than the previous year. The expansion of WFP’s assistance in 2023 mirrors the deterioration of the food and nutrition situation and was made possible through donor and partner support and the Government’s trust in WFP’s ability to deliver.
The significant increase in the number of beneficiaries was a result of the lean season response and new nutrition-sensitive agriculture projects. Actual cash-based transfer (CBT) beneficiaries are lower than planned as funds for planned activities were not yet received and some activities were postponed into 2024.
Support for the National School Meals Programme (NSMP) remained the foundation of WFP’s engagement in the country. With a national coverage of 25 percent, the NSMP offers daily nutritious meals to 198,000 schoolchildren, of which 69,000 attend 705 schools directly supplied and supported by WFP. In schools where the NSMP is managed by the Government, WFP provided 1,150 mt of food to offset costs for communities and public finances in times of hardship. Additionally, 250 mt of rice was distributed to 8,479 students in ethnic boarding schools and schools for persons with disabilities. Notwithstanding, the Government of Lao PDR issued a landmark Prime Minister’s Decree for the promotion of the NSMP, committing significant domestic resources to the development of the largest national safety net. With support from WFP, a shift was initiated toward a home-grown school feeding model, where direct food commodity supply is complemented and gradually phased out by introducing and integrating more locally-produced food for school meals.
Nutrition programming saw a sizable increase in 2023 with several multi-year programmes initiated.[1] Community-based approaches to preventing all forms of malnutrition in women and children in marginalized and remote communities were linked to agriculture production, food diversification and environmental sustainability. The Farmer Nutrition School (FNS) approach proved to be a best practice and will be replicated in 642 communities. Participants saw a 94 percent increase in crop production and a 92 percent increase in livestock ownership. Results also indicated improvement in dietary diversity among women and children. In Phongsaly Province, an acute malnutrition project was implemented, while in Luang Prabang Province a joint venture with the private sector examined developing business opportunities while improving the food and nutrition security of communities engaged in the coffee value chain.
Considering the vulnerability of the country to natural hazards, WFP remained committed to strengthening the capacity of communities and government institutions to improve resilience against climate and disaster-related shocks. Systems to anticipate shocks and respond faster and better to emergencies were developed with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare respectively. At the community level, WFP supported the construction and rehabilitation of 98 community assets in villages affected by, and prone to, hazards. Meanwhile, WFP partnered with the Lao Red Cross in supporting the Government's response to the effects of the global food crisis by undertaking emergency food distributions during the lean season[2], allowing 109,000 vulnerable people to bridge the food gap before the next harvest of the main rice crop.