Disaster Risk Reduction - Laos

DRR IN

Laos Laos is one of the poorest countries in South East Asia. Laos has a large ethnic population with over 49 official languages; 80% of people still live in rural areas with little road access during the wet season; and 60% of the population are under the age of 24. According to the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Laos experiences small-scale ongoing disasters, affecting over 10% of the population. Recurrent floods and droughts are considered the main natural hazards in

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addition to fires, landslides, erosion, typhoons, earthquakes and disease epidemics. Floods mostly occur during the May-September monsoon season. The region’s most affected (central and southern regions) by disasters are where 63% of the country’s population live. The compounding effects of man-made and climate change events are having a devastating effect on the population, with a significant increase in climate induced hazards reported in the last 10 years.

Save the Children’s Presence in Laos Save the Children has been working in Laos for over 22 years.

During that time we have developed a strong reputation as one of the leading agencies working in the health sector, where we work in partnership with district and provincial health departments to improve primary health care. Save the Children is also one of the very few agencies working on Child Protection.

Over the past 4 years in Laos, Save the Children has implemented 3 DRR programs with over $2 million AUD from AusAID. Save the Children has pioneered Child Centred, Child Led and Child Focused DRR, recognizing children as agents of change and encouraging participation of children and communities in the disaster risk reduction measures which aim to improve the lives of children facing disasters. Collectively the programs have reached over 12,000 children directly and over 35,000 indirectly. In addition, we have directly and indirectly reached 90,000 community members making us a significant DRR agency across the region.

Our DRR work has included preparedness, mitigation, EWS, resilience, adaption and advocacy activities and strongly influenced curricula in and out of school.

Building Resilience through preparedness and response The Sayaboury Integrated Hazard Mitigation Project (SIHMP) aims to reduce vulnerability and build resilience in communities in Sayaboury Province through strengthening sustainable disaster risk reduction approaches. Within the broader framework of ‘disaster risk reduction’, SIHMP will support both government agencies and communities to plan for and respond to a range of integrated factors which undermine sustainable livelihoods.

DRR and Education The LANGGOCA program has trained volunteers on Child-led DRR approaches, through its Disaster Risk Reduction for Children (DREC) project. DREC aims to equip children in schools as well as those outside the formal system with knowledge and skills in DRR so they can act as agents of change and advocates in building more disaster resilient communities. DRR modules and learning materials have been developed and incorporated into existing curriculum; outside of the formal system DRR is taught in after school DRR clubs. Children have participated in risk mapping and emergency drills, and have passed on this information to their families and communities through child led DRR campaigns and other community awareness raising activities – including through drama and song.

Risk Assessment tools and systems Developing a National disaster management Information system is crucial to enable the government to plan for and manage disaster events across the country. Save the Children and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), through its project, Establishing Disaster Information Systems (EDIS), has helped to introduce such systems at the district, province and national levels.

The disaster information systems will support the process of

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Top: Students from Pongpen Primary School in Xienghone, North-Western Laos.

Bottom: Children in the kids DRR club at Pongpen Primary School walk through their village to interview adults about their awareness of services and what to do in a natural disaster.

Cover: Young students study in Pongpen Primary School in Xienghone, rural Laos.

The rate of education in Laos has steadily grown and its estimated that now only 14% of children do not attend primary school.

Photos courtesy of AusAID.

effective identification of disaster risks and underlying risk factors and therefore contribute to more comprehensive preparedness and response initiatives.

Cross-cutting issues Save the Children focuses on reducing the vulnerability of poor people to disasters while integrating poverty reduction and cross-cutting issues such as gender, HIV/AIDS, environment, and ethnicity into the program.