School sanitation programme in Lao PDR

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is one of the poorest countries in South-East Asia. However, it is stepping into a progressive phase of expansion, moving from a land-locked country to a land-linked country, and looking to escape from the least-developed country status by 2020 through a National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES). Since, 1997, the Lao Government (through Ministry of Health) is advancing a Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) Sector Strategy involving the pioneering of new institutional solutions. The School Sanitation receives adequate attention by the RWSS Sector Strategy and therefore, the National Centre for Environmental Health and Water Supply (commonly known as Nam Saat) under the Ministry of Health (MoH) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MoE) advancing the School Sanitation Programme in Lao PDR through its local counter-parts, with support from NGOs and External Support Agencies. However, some recent studies reveal that there are further scopes existing for the School Sanitation Programme to improve. This paper explains the background of the School Sanitation Programme in Lao PDR and provides a way out on how to further improve the activities in Lao PDR to make the programme more effective and efficient.