Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Phosay Sayasone.
VIENTIANE: The government on Monday (Dec 22) reaffirmed its commitment to disaster risk management as the country marked National Disaster Management Day, Asean Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, and International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Speaking at a special event, Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Phosay Sayasone, highlighted the government’s efforts to strengthen disaster prevention, emergency response, and post-disaster recovery.
At the same time he noted challenges to these efforts, including limited human resources, budget constraints, and a lack of modern technology.
“Laos has suffered frequent and severe flooding in recent years caused by tropical storms, resulting in loss of life, harm to people’s livelihoods, damage to infrastructure, and a negative impact on the economy,” Phosay said.
The government will continue to improve community-based disaster management, early warning systems, and information sharing, he added.
Disaster risk reduction has been integrated into national socio-economic development plans, supported by legal frameworks such as the Law on Disaster Management and the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy for 2021-2030.
Capacity-building initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and local disaster response planning have also strengthened the country’s resilience.
The event took the globally designated theme of “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters”. The government called on state agencies, civil society, development partners, and the public to safeguard the country’s natural resources, comply with disaster-related laws, and make plans to minimise the impacts of extreme weather events.
In the coming years, the government will improve disaster management by strengthening local, district, and provincial capacities.
This effort aims to enhance the ability of personnel responsible for disaster management, improve information-sharing systems, and strengthen early warning systems to ensure people receive timely alerts and assistance, including rapid post-disaster recovery.
In recent years, Laos has experienced frequent and severe floods. In 2019, floods affected the central and southern regions and in 2022, flooding hit the northern and central provinces.
In 2023, floods again affected central and southern regions and in 2024 and 2025 widespread flooding was caused by a succession of tropical storms.
Despite the severity of the floods, the government has effectively implemented disaster response and recovery measures and restored affected areas to normal conditions.
However, challenges remain, particularly in building the capacity of personnel responsible for disaster management.
Current resources and response systems at both the central and local levels, as well as budget limitations, have restricted the full implementation of modern technology and equipment available for disaster prevention, control, and recovery. - Vientiane Times/ANN
