Building sustainable primary health care in the Lao People's Democratic Republic through community engagement and trust building

Overview

Despite recent progress, inequities remain for health outcomes in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, especially in terms of maternal and child health in rural areas. This is associated with constraints in access to health care and lack of human resources for essential health services. On top of this, the coronavirus disease (‎COVID-19)‎ pandemic exacerbated inequities around essential healthcare provision, including immunization outreach activities, antenatal care, delivery with skilled birth attendants, family planning and admission to health-care facilities.

This case study was one of four country projects in the WHO Community Engagement Research Initiative, a multi-country effort that aimed to design, implement and research relationship-focused community engagement interventions in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.