The United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women is accepting applications for its 16th grant cycle (2011). Proposals will be accepted from government authorities, civil society organizations and networks — including non-governmental, women’s and community-based organizations and coalitions, and operational research institutions — and UN Country Teams (in partnership with governments and civil society organizations).
 
The 2011 UN Trust Fund Call invites proposals in the following areas of action:

1. Closing the gap on the implementation of national and local laws, policies and action plans that address violence against women
2. Addressing violence against women in conflict, post-conflict and transitional settings

Applicants are invited to submit grant proposals for a minimum of US$100,000 up to a maximum of US$1 million for a period of two to three years. The application deadline is 19 January 2012. The complete Call for Proposals detailing criteria, eligibility requirements and application guidelines is available at: http://www.unwomen.org/how-we-work/un-trust-fund/application-guidelines/ or via the UN Women homepage.

UN-HABITAT and UNDP have signed a Letter of Agreement to partner in a project under the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) GoAL-WASH programme to enhance pro-poor water governance in Lao PDR. The project will be a joint programme between the two agencies and in partnership with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT).

The agreement, signed in November 2011, aims to assist MPWT in preparing a National Water Supply Sector Strategy and establish a database of designs of water treatment plants of various capacities. The project is expected to strengthen the water sector through improved sector coordination and planning, as well as leading to an increase of cost-effective investments in water supply for small towns. The outcome will be an improvement in the access, quality and reliability of the water supply and sanitation services.

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Photo: UN-HABITAT/Eeva Nyyssonen

VIENTIANE – Eight fundraising champions of the 2010 World Hunger Relief campaign, organised by YUM! Brands, have seen for themselves the impact of their donations to the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) projects in Laos.

Restaurant managers from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia travelled to Luangnamtha province to visit WFP school meals programmes. They also talked to women and health centre staff about the benefits of WFP’s nutrition education initiative Feeding the Future and its Mother and Child Health and Nutrition activities.

“Here in Laos, YUM! has contributed more than US$2 million to help WFP provide a daily mid-morning snack to primary school children in six provinces and to enable  WFP to expand Feeding the Future, a nutrition education project that has reached more than 100 villages and is still growing,” said Eri Kudo, WFP Representative in Lao PDR. “By providing children with the food they need to develop their physical and mental potential, these projects ensure that children receive an education and act as an important investment in breaking the cycle of poverty and hunger.”

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Photo: The YUM! delegation with WFP staff and villagers of the Lanten ethnic group in Ban Soptud, Luangnamtha. Photo Credit: WFP/Patricia Facultad

H.E. Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong on Wednesday congratulated international Heads of Delegations on the successful outcome of the Round Table Implementation Meeting 2011 (RTIM).

“I would like to congratulate the participants of this year’s Round Table Implementation Meeting for their excellent contributions and cooperation to improve development efforts in Lao PDR,” said the Prime Minister. “I would also like to thank all Development Partners for their continued support to Lao PDR and their ongoing commitment to the Round Table Process.” 

During a 30-minute debriefing with the Prime Minister, 14 key development partners provided an overview of results of the RTIM, which provided what they termed a “challenging but very positive agenda over the coming year.”

In doing so, they highlighted issues of good governance, effective public financial management, environmental and natural resource management, private sector development and quality Foreign Direct Investment, and human resource development.

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Round Table Process Lao PDR website

Photo: Mr. Minh H. Pham, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, with H.E. Mr. Thongloun Sisoulith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and H.E. Mr Somdy Douangdy, Minister of Planning and Investment, at the Round Table Implementation Meeting 2011. Photo credit: UNDPLaoPDR/Laophoto

VIENTIANE – Nutrition is at the heart of the new Country Programme for Lao PDR approved by the Executive Board of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome during its Second Regular Session from 14 to 17 November 2011.

The Country Programme details WFP’s projects to fight malnutrition in Lao PDR in the years 2012 to 2015. The projects to improve the nutrition and food security of more than 750,000 men, women and children in the country will require US$69 million in funding to be fully implemented.

WFP is working to help Lao PDR become free from undernutrition and its debilitating impact on human potential and national development. WFP will work with partners in the Health, Education and Agriculture sectors to address the full range of factors affecting under-nutrition.

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PHOTO: Improving nutrition for mothers and young children is one of the central pillars of the new WFP Country Strategy in Lao PDR.  Credit: WFP/Annika Harald

Development progress in Lao PDR has been recognized by a rise in the country’s Human Development Index value (HDI) from 0.520 in 2010 to 0.524 in 2011, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) global Human Development Report (HDR) 2011. Lao PDR has seen a 39 percent rise in its HDI since the first Human Development Report was published in 1990.

Critically there has also been an improvement in the inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI) with Lao PDR moving up 6 places to 107 out of 134 countries covered in the report titled, Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All. However, hard-won gains in Least Developed Countries, such as Lao PDR, could be slowed or even reversed by environmental threats. These will affect the poorest people the hardest and could further widen the inequality gap in nations like Lao PDR, the report states.

Press Release (English)

Press Release (Lao)

Photo: Mr. Minh H. Pham, UNDP Resident Representative, hands over the Human Development Report 2011 to Dr. Bounthavy Sisouphantong, Vice Minister, Ministry of Planning and Investment. Photo Credit: UNDPLaoPDR/Toby Fricker

The first ever Human Development Media Awards in Lao PDR invites Lao journalists to submit stories based on the Human Development concept and the theme of this year's United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) global Human Development Report, Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All.

Mr. Somsanouk Mixay, Vice President, Lao Journalists Association, launched the Human Development Media Awards on 15 November at a ceremony at Don Chan Palace Hotel. The event also marked the Lao PDR launch of the global Human Development Report 2011 with Mr. Minh H. Pham, UNDP Resident Representative, handing over the report to Dr Bounthavy Sisouphanthong, Vice Minister, Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Read Human Development Media Awards 2011 Launch Press Release

Photo: Mr. Somsanouk Mixay, Vice President, Lao Journalists Association, launches the inaugural Human Development Media Awards. Photo Credit: UNDPLaoPDR/Toby Fricker