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Lao PDR has made impressive progress in economic growth and poverty reduction, with the proportion of poor people falling from 39% (mid-1990's) to 27.6 percent of the population (2010). According to the UNDP Human Development Report 2010, the country is one of the 10 “top movers” in the world in terms of progress on human development during the past 20 years .
However, these achievements have been accompanied by widening gaps between rich and poor, women and men, ethnic groups, and residents of different regions of the country. Poverty and near-poverty remain widespread in rural areas, standing at nearly twice the rate of that in urban areas.
Breaking the cycle of poverty in Lao PDR and “graduating” to middle-income status by 2020 represents the heart of the Government's development aspirations. Without adequate international financing for development assistance, however, achieving this will be very difficult. UNDP has a key role in assisting the country with a smooth transition to middle-income status, as well as the complex process to strategically raise needed funds for programmes that benefit poor people.
Our work
We work toward achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan 2011-2015 and, more broadly, Lao PDR's “graduation” to middle-income status, through comprehensive assistance to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. This assistance will help the Government to access funding that may not otherwise have been available and to address emerging development issues through better targeted actions to serve people in need.
In particular, the Round Table has been the core of UNDP's special development partnership with Lao PDR. UNDP plays an especially important lead role as co-chair of the Round Table process with the Government, helping ensure donor funds achieve the greatest development results based on national priorities. This goal has been set not only at the Vientiane Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, but also at the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries.
UNDP uses its trusted and strategic policy advisory role to assist the Ministry of Planning and Investment in preparations for the Round Table, held every three years. This has helped to strengthen clear linkages between Round Table results and major national development goals such as the achievement of the MDGs and smooth transition strategy for “graduation.” Donors thus are moving forward in a more coherent way to further poverty reduction.
To support informed policymaking, we also are helping to improve the Ministry's planning and monitoring/evaluation functions, through establishment of a strengthened database and better-trained personnel for more reliable development statistics. As part of the smooth transition to “graduation” to middle-income status, we are building Lao PDR's capacity to receive maximum benefits from full integration into the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) by 2015, which will expand the country's competitiveness in the global economy and accelerate poverty reduction. In addition, we offer groundbreaking research on human development in Lao PDR, the non-income side of reducing poverty.
To ensure all people In Lao PDR benefit from national development, we employ other key initiatives: Along with UNCDF, we established a funding mechanism that helps financial service providers to be more responsive to the financial needs of low income households and micro entrepreneurs. In turn, this is improving access of poor people to land, markets and social and economic services. Our goal is to reach 140,000 active clients by 2014, up from 30,000 in 2010. We also are developing a gender specific programme to look at the economic empowerment of women. |
Lao PDR
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