U.S. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PERFORMANCE PUBLICATION FY 2009

Foreign Assistance Performance Publication for Fiscal Year 2009 highlights the country's efforts in Laos. The Lao Government is transitioning towards a market-based economy, driven by globalization and regionalization. U.S. cooperation focuses on promoting peace and security, addressing unexploded ordnance (UXO), and counternarcotics. The U.S. has expanded technical assistance to build Laos' capacity to implement trade agreements and modernize its legal and regulatory framework. In the area of peace and security, clearance of UXO remains a significant challenge. UXO contaminates the countryside, killing or injuring approximately 300 people each year, and rendering large areas of scarce arable land unsafe. U.S. assistance in FY 2009 resulted in the return of almost 30 square kilometers of agricultural land to productive use, positively impacting the lives of thousands in impoverished rural areas. The National Regulatory Agency's technical capacity was also improved to deliver timelier and more efficient assistance to remote areas. Laos has a low HIV prevalence rate of 0.2 percent, but recent infrastructure development and increased population mobility have amplified risk factors. Alarming HIV rates among men who have sex with men (MSM) have been detected in Vientiane, with a prevalence rate of 5.6 percent, the highest among all vulnerable groups surveyed. The U.S. works closely with the Provincial Committees for the Control of AIDS to target MSMs and female sex workers. Comprehensive behavior-change interventions were provided in four hotspots, focusing on condom social marketing and outreach and peer education activities. Approximately 9,000 female sex workers were reached through outreach activities, and 2,621 received STI services. Avian Influenza activities in Laos focus on animal and human surveillance, government capacity to respond to outbreaks, and behavior change communication. FY 2009 activities maintained laboratory capacity to identify H5N1 infections, ensured active surveillance in high-risk provinces, and developed field epidemiology training programs. A market-chain analysis of the poultry sector was performed to understand the risks associated with the movement of poultry. Malaria activities in Laos focused on drug resistance monitoring in Luang Namtha province and worked closely with provincial and district officials to seize illegal pharmaceutical products. The Mission's Social Services and Protection activities in Laos strengthened 73 schools, hospitals, and disabled people's organizations through training and support to more than 4,656 people with disabilities. This training developed the skills and confidence of Lao trainers, enabling them to design and carry out training programs in other provinces. The projects also trained more than 932 educators, medical staff, provincial and district officers, and community members. For example, the trainings encouraged the Salavan hospital medical staff to learn to work as a team, track post-surgical infection rates, and develop and implement an aggressive plan for sterilizing the surgical room and equipment frequently, resulting in a significant decrease in infection rates. In the area of economic growth, the United States sponsored a workshop for Laos' parliamentarians to explore how to navigate and benefit from World Trade Organization (WTO) accession and Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) implementation. Other project activities focused on increasing transparency through dissemination of trade-related information within the Government of Laos and to the Laos private sector. Activities included a fact sheet-writing workshop to hone Ministry of Industry and Commerce staff skills, which yielded 13 finalized trade-related fact sheets, and a seminar exploring the treatment of trading rights under the WTO and the BTA.