Mr. Khambay Damlat, Vice President of the National Assembly of the Lao PDR

UNICEF strengthens the capacity of members of the Social and Cultural Committee of the National Assembly to ensure national budget and spending is responsive to the needs of children and women in the Lao PDR.

(KPL) – UNICEF and the National Assembly of the Lao PDR have organized a two-day workshop to enhance the capacity of members of the Cultural and Social Affairs Committee of the National Assembly from across all 18 provinces to monitor and ensure national budgets and spending are responsive to the needs of children and women in the country.

National budgets and investment are critical instruments that countries use to address social challenges. As such, this workshop provided an open platform where parliamentarians and facilitators can share information and evidence about challenges faced by children and women, alongside the lessons learned on overcoming them.

Ms. Thoummaly Vongphachanh, Chairperson of the Cultural and Social Affairs Committee of the National Assembly remarked: “This workshop is the first activity organised between UNICEF and the National Assembly in 2023 and will help us share the lessons learned about policies, laws and budgeting to for the benefit and protection of the rights of all women and children in the Lao PDR. The workshop will be especially helpful in the face of the current economic challenges and budgetary constraints, which have impacted our ability to meet our national socio-economic development goals, specifically 43 targets related to socio-cultural development which were endorsed at the 9th Ordinary Session of the National Assembly’s ninth legislature.”

The workshop covered: the role of the National Assembly in the advancing the well-being of women and children; the situation of children in the Lao PDR; lessons learned on the implementation of the national constitution, laws and international conventions related to women and children; progress towards the SDGs; budget monitoring on child-related sectors in the ASEAN region; challenges related to nutrition and breastfeeding; the budgetary situation of the nutrition sector; maternal and child healthcare and vaccination; basic education and investments in the education sector; obstacles towards the agenda for Lao Generation 2030; findings on multi-dimensional child poverty; and the evaluation of various laws and policies.

“Globally, studies have shown that inadequate, inequitable, and ineffective public spending is the main barrier that prevents children from achieving their rights,” said Dr. Pia Britto, UNICEF Representative to the Lao PDR. “UNICEF remains committed to continue working with the National Assembly to support the generation of evidence to improve investments for child focused social sectors, including through this workshop,” she added.

At the conclusion of the workshop, Mr. Khambay Damlat, Vice President of the National Assembly of the Lao PDR, called on members of the Cultural and Social Affairs Committee of the National Assembly to take action in several areas, including: strengthening oversight of policies, strategies and plans of action as well as all laws and legislation related to children and women to generate more evidence for research and help inform interventions; implementing lessons learned from the workshop towards achieving the targets of the National Socio—Economic Development Plan; regular monitoring of the implementation of various strategies, action plans and interventions related to children and women across all sectors; strengthening coordination between all levels and stakeholders; strengthening the promotion of the development of children and women in support of the SDGs and international development targets; and regularly sharing information and lessons learned from actual implementation between local and central levels.

KPL