Laos

Map & Basic Information

  • Area

    240,000 square kilometers

  • Population

    744.3 million (2022,laos statistics burea)

  • Capital

    Vientiane

  • Ethnicity

    50 ethnic groups, including the Lao (more than half of the total population)

  • Language

    Lao

  • Religion

    Buddhism

laos

Source:Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

Issues to be addressed

In Laos, the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into effect in 2019. However, understanding and knowledge of people with disabilities are not sufficiently widespread, which hinders their participation, in terms of education, employment, and any other social and political activities in the country. In addition, due to the lack of understanding of disabilities, a sense of discrimination and prejudice persists. It is difficult for people with disabilities to obtain support from sources other than their families. There is not much of a system to support people with disabilities in the community.

Activities

Creating a supportive environment for
people with disabilities in the community

People with disabilities and their families participate in training on how to cultivate mushrooms to earn income from selling them.

We support creating an environment that promotes the participation of people with disabilities in society and helps them solve problems they face in the community. We provide livelihood support to self-help groups of people with disabilities and their families and the construction of barrier-free public facilities. We also dispatch lecturers to the largest organization of people with disabilities in Laos* and hold project briefings for government officials so that the organizations can take the initiative in promoting an inclusive society.

Major Activities in Past

  • 2023

    Flood Relief

    Heavy rains caused floods and landslides, affecting approximately 50,000 people. AAR distributed food and drinking water as emergency relief.

  • 2015-2019

    Maternal and
    child health services

    We provided medical equipment, improved sanitation, and health education to residents in areas where access to medical services is difficult.

  • 2000 - 2011

    Support for wheelchair manufacturing

    We rebuilt a wheelchair workshop to manufacture and distribute wheelchairs and three-wheeled wheelchairs. In total, we provided over 3,000 wheelchairs to the disabled.