Leaving no one behind: Establishing the basis for social protection floors in Lao PDR

The main objective of this UN Joint Programme (JP) is to support the Government in the implementation of the new National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS), through an approach focused on systems development and implemented through the Mother and Early Childhood Grant (MECG). The JP is based on the new government-led NSPS with strong national institutional buy-in. The JP will include a focus on ensuring that SP funding is on-budget and that additional traditional and non-traditional sources of finance are mobilized and blended with public sector budget allocations to secure sustainability of the NSPS. The MECG will act as a model for SP provision which can be tested and scaled nationally in the future, with the learning from the experience feeding into potential subsequent interventions targeting other vulnerable groups including the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrants and informal workers. By the end of the programme, the main expected results are that Government planning, managerial, and implementation capacity (including leadership and co-ordination) to implement the NSPS is enhanced, and that 1,400 children under 12 months are benefiting from a new integrated package of welfare services, including the new MECG, early childhood wellbeing services and support for birth registration.

Project symbol

LAO/19/50/UND

Admin unit

CO-Bangkok

Start date

01/01/2020

End date

30/06/2022

Total allocation

816539

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

815190

Development Partners

Multi Partner Trust Fund Office, UNDP

Country/Countries

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Outcomes

Outcome 8: Comprehensive and sustainable social protection for all