ILO Review Guides New Lao Social Protection Plan
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is supporting the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in its vision to reduce poverty and inequality, providing recommendations as the Government prepares a new National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS) for 2026-30.
The final, end-term review of the NSPS 2021-25, conducted by the ILO-UNDESA project “Accelerating universal social protection for achieving the SDGs and ending poverty through strengthened governance” found that the country has made steady progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with 94.5 per cent of the population legally covered, alongside a gradual increase in social security coverage among enterprises, self-employed and agricultural workers.
The five-year period also saw a notable increase in coverage of vulnerable population groups, with 109,000 maternal and child welfare beneficiaries and over 200,000 children in 41 districts benefitting from the School Meals programme.
“These initiatives were supported by robust legal and policy frameworks and the establishment of multi-stakeholder Social Protection Committees at the national level and in 17 provinces,” said Loveleen De, Social Protection Programme Manager, ILO.
Vilayphong Sisomvang, Director-General of Planning and International Cooperation at Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the Head of the National Social Protection Committee Secretariat observed that: “The coordination mechanism for social protection has seen significant progress over time, particularly through the active roles of the National and Provincial Social Protection Committees. This collaborative approach has enabled stakeholders to enhance their capacity in key areas such as health insurance and social welfare, contributing to more effective and inclusive social protection systems.”
The review highlighted that many challenges nevertheless remain, such as large coverage gaps, low and uneven level of protection, rising out-of-pocket expenditures and varying service quality for healthcare. Heavy reliance on donor funding limiting scale and sustainability, insufficient funding for the Secretariat’s functions, and limited number of experts and trained staff in the Secretariat were also raised as key bottlenecks.
Initiated in September 2025, the review process saw interviews take place with government stakeholders and international partners, focus group discussions with beneficiaries in three field locations, data analysis, and two validation workshops. The process also saw the NSPS implementation roadmap and monitoring indicators updated. The report is expected to be published in mid-2026.
De added: “While the past five years have seen many advancements – the move towards UHC, stronger focus on the informal sector to join social security, and piloting and expansion of social welfare programmes, sustained progress will depend on institutionalising funding and implementation within national structures.”
In December 2025, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic launched its first social security mobile application as part of efforts to modernise service delivery. The app was launched at a national policy forum for dialogue and collaboration – the National Symposium on Social Protection, themed “Digitalise, Transform, and Deliver in a New Era”, also supported by the ILO-UNDESA Project.
https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/ilo-review-helps-set-direction-new-lao-national-social-protection-strategy
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