DRF Country Diagnostic Note: Lao PDR

This Disaster Risk Finance (DRF) Country Note for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) provides a review of the country’s current system of public financial management of natural disasters, including existing DRF instruments, their operational status, and budget mobilization and execution procedures used following a disaster. This note also aims to identify gaps where potential engagement could further develop financial resilience.

The impact of floods and droughts is a major concern for Lao PDR: an average of 200,000 people per year were affected by floods over the period 1991–2013.1 Lao PDR experienced major typhoons in 2009 (Ketsana) and in 2011 (Haima), resulting in damages estimated at over US$121 million. Severe flooding in 2013 caused damages in excess of US$270 million.