Consortium/Lao PDR : Xieng Khouang UXO [unexploded ordance] assistance project -- a review of the war victims project in the Lao PDR for the war victims fund

-- to assist the war-torn Xieng Khouang Province in northeastern Laos in providing emergency medical care and awareness education in the face of the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance (UXO). Interim evaluation covers the period 9/95-7/97. Substantial progress has been made in developing the ability of local health facilities and district hospitals to provide emergency medical/surgical care and related services for victims of UXO and other traumatic injuries in Xieng Khouang province. If these achievements are to be sustained, the Xieng Khouang provincial health service will need to develop an administrative structure that can continue the project"s work of planning, implementing, and evaluating such activities. The health service will need training to enhance its administrative and technical capacity to perform these tasks. The project has also made considerable progress in developing and implementing a primary school curriculum that teaches children the dangers of unexploded ordnance and how to prevent UXO accidents. Before the program can be integrated into the education system its effectiveness will need to be proven through the completion of the field testing that is already in progress. The program should promote the use of participatory educational techniques at the provincial training of trainer and classroom levels. The program"s impact should be monitored through pre- and post- testing in targeted schools and through a simple checklist for district technicians. (Author abstract, modified)