International authorities, along with non-governmental organizations, are spearheading initiatives to bolster the healthcare sector's resilience against climate changes.
The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is taking significant strides to fortify its health system and communities against the impacts of climate change. The "Strengthening Climate Resilience of the Lao PDR Health System" project, a key initiative, is playing a pivotal role in these efforts.
This project supports the development of climate-resilient health infrastructure and services, enabling them to withstand climate impacts while also informing national climate mitigation goals through sustainable healthcare practices. Over the course of five years, the project will upgrade 79 health facilities across Laos, prioritising vulnerable provinces, and improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. Additionally, it aims to enhance community capacity to manage climate-related health risks, making the health system more robust against challenges such as natural disasters, climate-sensitive diseases, and food security disruptions.
Key contributions of the project include upgrading health facilities to be clean, safe, and climate resilient, reducing vulnerability to extreme weather and natural hazards. It also employs climate and WASH data to monitor risks and prepare health responses, thereby enhancing early warning and adaptive capacity at district and community levels.
In terms of mitigation, the project supports infrastructure improvements that can reduce the health sector's greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to Laos’ national climate mitigation targets, including its goal of a 60% emission reduction by 2030. Furthermore, it builds capacity in communities and health workers to cope with health impacts of climate change, ensuring continued healthcare delivery during climate crises.
The project is a collaboration between the Ministry of Health of Lao PDR, Save the Children International in Laos (SCiL), and Health Care Without Harm Southeast Asia (HCWH SEA). HCWH SEA will lead the implementation of a nationwide assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the identified 79 public healthcare facilities.
The initiative is designed to ensure that health facilities can continue to provide essential care during and after climate-related events such as extreme heat, floods, droughts, and typhoons. It aims to develop clean, safe, and climate-resilient health facilities across seven provinces in Laos.
The project, named "Strengthening Climate Resilience of the Lao PDR Health System," was officially launched on July 22, 2025, at Lao Plaza Hotel in Vientiane. It is a critical component of a broader Green Climate Fund-supported initiative, integrating international expertise and policy support, enhancing resilience and sustainability of Lao PDR’s health system.
The project is related to topics such as Cities, Policy & Finance, Laos, and Southeast Asia. It involves tags related to carbon footprint, emissions, floods, food security, natural disasters, NGOs, climate, governance, healthcare, resilience, climate risk, extreme weather, global warming, heatwaves, philanthropy, and COP30.
This news article is published by EB Publishing. The project's findings will contribute to the country's national climate mitigation targets and support long-term health system resilience.
- The "Strengthening Climate Resilience of the Lao PDR Health System" project, a collaboration between the Ministry of Health of Lao PDR, Save the Children International in Laos (SCiL), and Health Care Without Harm Southeast Asia (HCWH SEA), is aimed at developing climate-resilient health infrastructure and services, informing national climate mitigation goals, and upgrading 79 health facilities across Laos.
- This project, a critical component of a broader Green Climate Fund-supported initiative, will employ climate and WASH data to monitor risks and prepare health responses, reducing vulnerability to extreme weather and natural hazards, and supporting infrastructure improvements to reduce the health sector's greenhouse gas emissions.
- Over the course of five years, the project will enhance community capacity to manage climate-related health risks, thereby ensuring continued healthcare delivery during climate crises, and contributing to Laos’ national climate mitigation targets, including its goal of a 60% emission reduction by 2030.
- The project, which focuses on topics such as Cities, Policy & Finance, Laos, and Southeast Asia, involves tags related to carbon footprint, emissions, floods, food security, natural disasters, NGOs, climate, governance, healthcare, resilience, climate risk, extreme weather, global warming, heatwaves, philanthropy, and COP30, and will contribute to the country's long-term health system resilience and national climate mitigation targets.
