Vientiane Capital, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 1 - 2 August 2024 - The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MoLSW) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly organized a 2-day national level training session on Anticipatory Action (AA). The event was well attended by partners and stakeholders, including the government of Lao PDR, UN agencies, NGOs/INGOs and CSOs

The training is built on the Technical Standards on Anticipatory Action (AA) and the minimum AA training package developed by the regional Technical Working Group for AA (RTWG-AA) and adapted for Lao People’s Democratic Republic to help building the capacities of the national AA-TWG members and key partners in operationalizing this new concept. The training was delivered in a collective manner, with technical support from key AA partners in Lao PDR and at the regional level, including FAO Lao People’s Democratic Republic, FAO Philippines, FAO Viet nam, World Vision International and Save the Children from the Asia Regional Office.

During the training, Mr. Kindavong Luangrath, Deputy Director General of the Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, as the chair highlighted that “this is the first-ever AA training taking place in our country, and it is my hournor to be part of this initiative. I would strongly encourage all of you attending this inaugural training to mainstream such an approach into your respective organizations and the work you do to help local communities to be more resilient and better coping with anticipated shocks”. 

Upon completion of the training, participants received 'Certificates of Completion' presented by FAO and MoLSW. The trainees came from variety of organizations, including the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education and Sports, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Work and Transportation, Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Public Security, Lao Red Cross, UN agencies, NGOs/INGOs, and CSOs.

The training was financially supported by the project 'Increasing Capacities and Scale for Anticipatory Action Including through Social Protection Systems' (also called ECHO Pilot Programmatic Partnership, or ECHO-PPP), and implemented by FAO and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.