Copyright: WFP/Tom Greenwood

Laos is a landlocked country with a population of approximately 5.8 million and is recognized as one of the poorest countries in the world. Due to the northern mountainous terrain and poor infrastructure, a significant portion of the country is inaccessible by road. Laos has the misfortune of being the world's most heavily bombed country with two thirds still contaminated by unexploded ordnances (UXOs) from the Indo-China War. Additionally, the country is constantly plagued by natural disasters including droughts, floods, and pest infestations.

WFP began providing emergency assistance to the Laos thirty years ago in response to floods and droughts.  With the establishment of a Country Office in 2000, a more structured response was provided in meeting the needs of one-third of Laos' households that are estimated to have insufficient food for more than half of the year. WFP has increasingly focused on development programmes aimed at strengthening rural livelihoods and improving primary school enrolment rates.

In reaching the poor in rural communities Laos presents unique challenges. The country has one of the most highly dispersed populations in southeast Asia with 25 people per square kilometer compared to 253 people per square kilometer in neighboring Vietnam. Thousands of sparse, small and remote villages are only accessible by river or on foot. During 2008, food purchases were carried internationally (169 MT), regionally (4,732 MT), locally (8,520 MT) and in-kind (2,240 MT).

In terms of distribution, in-kind shipments are received through the port of Bangkok (Thailand) and transported to the main established extended delivery points (EDPs) in Laos by road. From there, commodities are transported for all projects. For regional and local purchases, the food commodities are delivered to the main EDPs and from there to schools or food for work sites.

There are various logistical challenges, which are proactively overcome. A main issue is that the only practical transport mode options in Laos are by road, river, and by foot.  As it is a landlocked country there are no options for transport by sea, there is no rail system and air transport is extremely limited. A second challenge is that the road network system would be classed as being in poor condition with only 14% being paved, frequently closed for repair, inaccessible during the rainy session and the freight tons that can be handled on most roads is low. This results in the need to frequently de-consolidate larger distributions into smaller vehicles, thus increasing the time and cost of transportation. Another logistical issue is the above-mentioned dispersed and sparse population. A fourth issue is that the number of ethnic groups and languages spoken in Laos is estimated to be in the hundreds, making communication and the organization of distributions difficult.- Also, WFP is encouraging development in Laos by supporting numerous small projects and schools through providing food for workers and enrolment.  These programmes result in a requirement for very small distributions to remote villages which can be a costly exercise. A final challenge is that there are only a few transport organizations in Laos with national distribution capabilities and transporters located in the Province have limited capacity.  This makes identifying an appropriate shortlist of suppliers a difficult, time consuming and ongoing activity.
 

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