Lao PDR Learning Districts: A People-Centered Approach to Service Delivery

dc.creatorWorld Bank
dc.date2026-06-15T16:15:17Z
dc.date2026-06-15T16:15:17Z
dc.date2026-06-02
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-01T00:30:27Z
dc.descriptionIn Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), primary health care (PHC) is the main pathway toward universal health coverage (UHC). Despite progress in maternal and child health, major gaps persist for non-Lao Tai ethnic groups in remote areas, including challenges in accessing maternal care, nutrition services, and safe WASH practices. With support from the World Bank, the Government of Lao PDR has launched the Health and Nutrition Service Access II (HANSA II) Project to strengthen the quality and equity of PHC, particularly for underserved communities. Central to the project, the government has prioritized integrating essential health services - antenatal and postnatal care, immunization, nutrition support, WASH, and family planning - for improved ease of delivery and access to better address the health needs of these remote, disadvantaged communities. This report summarizes qualitative research conducted in two districts of Lao PDR to better understand the needs, beliefs, and barriers experienced by select non-Lao Tai groups (and the community actors who influence them) to improve access to and utilization of quality essential health services. Addressing this challenge called for approaches that can unpack its inherent complexity and point toward practical, implementable solutions fit for purpose and context. The applied Human-centered design (HCD) and systems thinking lens surfaced deeply dependent, multisectoral challenges across nutrition and the environment, social protection, cultural norms and more. It identified key areas requiring concerted intervention, including cultural barriers to the adoption of desired health and nutrition behaviors among the most traditional families (those with distinct challenges and needs within the broader non–Lao-Tai populations), structural issues with outreach programs, and health center readiness to respond to the demand motivated by the outreach programs.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.formattext/plain
dc.identifierhttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/cd273c79-e66e-4ad2-9cef-86c2c6a9e6a5
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/45041
dc.identifier10.1596/45041
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/404815
dc.languageEnglish
dc.languageen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.rightsCC BY-NC 3.0 IGO
dc.rightshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo
dc.rightsWorld Bank
dc.subjectGOOD HEALTH
dc.subjectUNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE (UHC)
dc.subjectHEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY
dc.subjectHEALTH AND NUTRITION SERVICE ACCESS II (HANSA II) PROJECT
dc.titleLao PDR Learning Districts: A People-Centered Approach to Service Delivery
dc.typeReport

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