VIENTIANE: The Lao government, in partnership with development partners, has launched a US$17.59 million project to strengthen the country’s ability to prevent, detect and respond to future pandemics.
The ALERT-LAO (Advancing Lao PDR’s Pandemic Response and Transformation) project was officially launched in Vientiane on August 5 in a partnership between the government, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
Addressing the launch event, Minister of Health Baykham Khattiya said the project reflects the collective commitment to protecting the health of the Lao people through stronger and more coordinated systems.
“ALERT-LAO will help us close critical gaps in early warning and laboratory capacity so that the Lao PDR is better prepared for future health threats,” she said.
Funded by a US$17.59 million grant from the Pandemic Fund, the project will invest in integrated disease surveillance and early warning, laboratory systems, One Health workforce development, risk prevention and an enabling policy environment across all 18 provinces.
The grant has leveraged US$91.6 million in co-investment from domestic resources and US$14.6 million in co-financing from international partners.
“Today marks an important milestone in the Lao PDR’s journey to build stronger defences against future pandemics,” the Executive Director of the Pandemic Fund, Priya Basu, said.
She said her team will work alongside other implementing entities, FAO and Unicef, to support the Lao government in strengthening surveillance, laboratory systems, and the One Health workforce.
“Together, we are helping build resilient systems that will protect lives, strengthen regional health security, and ensure the Lao PDR is better prepared for future health threats,” she added.
The project takes a One Health approach, recognising that human, animal and environmental health are closely connected, and will also strengthen multisectoral coordination, risk communication, and community engagement, and digital data-sharing across sectors.
Pandemic threats begin quietly – where people, animals and the environment meet, Unicef Representative in Laos, Bilal Aurang Zeb Durrani said.
“As the two implementing entities, FAO and Unicef are proud to support the government of the Lao PDR in building one connected system – stronger surveillance, better laboratories and a trained One Health workforce – so that when the next threat emerges, the response is fast enough to protect every child and every community,” Durrani said on behalf of FAO and Unicef.
The launch event brought together representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, provincial authorities, embassies, implementing and delivery partners, the private sector and development partners, demonstrating their collective determination to address the issue.
The five technical components of the project will be implemented under the leadership of the Lao government, with FAO and Unicef as implementing entities, alongside a wide range of delivery partners. The World Health Organisation will continue to provide strategic and technical guidance to the Ministry of Health.
The partnership will reinforce collaboration across human, animal and environmental health sectors and help translate the One Health approach into stronger preparedness and response at both the national and provincial levels. - Vientiane Times/ANN
