National Social Protection Strategy of Lao PDR Vision 2030 - Goal 2025.

The National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS) is a nationwide sectoral document aiming at (i) promoting and improving the implementation of social protection policies: (ii) contributing to human capital development in Lao PDR: (iii) contributing to the goals and objectives of other relevant sectoral and socio-economic development plans. To achieve these, the NSPS states its Vision until 2030 of achieving for Lao people access to basic social protection services, consisting of health insurance, social security, and social welfare, in an equitable, adequate, effective, and sustainable way. The 3 main Goals are (i) the health insurance system is further developed and strengthened; (ii) the social security system is further developed and strengthened; (iii) the social welfare system is further developed and strengthened. The Strategic Objectives are classified into three big functional groups: health insurance, social security and social welfare.
To help eliminate hunger and malnutrition, the Strategy aims to (i) provide benefits to children under 3 years old in the poorest districts to ensure necessary nutrition during the first two years of life; (ii) provide material (food, vouchers and other in-kind transfers) with priority to pregnant women and children who need special protection; (iii) expand the National School Meal Programme to all State kindergarten, pre-primary, primary and secondary schools in the villages of poor districts throughout the country.
Rural poverty shall be faced through (i) extension to rural areas the availability and accessibility of health services including essential facilities, medical equipment, skilled health workers and essential drugs and medicines; (ii) extension of health insurance coverage to people in rural areas by providing all Lao people with a health insurance identity card.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, main interventions are (i) ensuring that everyone has access to health services and that the use of these services does not result in financial hardship for individuals through the dissemination of health insurance; (ii) provide services and benefits to pregnant women and to children; (iii) provide services and benefits to victims of natural and man-made disasters.