LAO/027
Lao-Luxembourg Health Sector Support Programme - Phase II

Latest news

• LAOS - 22 ophthalmic nurses are ready for delivering eye care services in hospitals and in remote parts of the countryLuxembourg and The Fred Hollows Foundation support capacity building for hospitals and rural eye care in Lao PDR

  Published on 16 January 2020    By Sommay Sibounheuang   

  On 25 December 2019, twenty-two specialised ophthalmology nurses completed their training course at a graduation ceremony held at the National Eye Centre (NOC) hospital in Vientiane Capital.

  Assoc. Prof Dr. Boauthep PHOUMMINDR (Deputy Director of Health Care Department at the Ministry of Health) and  Dr. Siphetthavong SISALEUMSAK (Deputy Director of National of ophthalmology Center), presided the ceremony, joined by representatives from the Lao-Luxembourg Health Sector Support Programme LAO/027, which provided six-month scholarships to six of the graduates, under a collaboration agreement with The Fred Hollows Foundation in Lao PDR.

  Scholarship recipients with Ms Sommay Sibounheuang, LAO/027 Scholarship Officer. ©LuxDev

  The Fred Hollows Foundation (https://www.hollows.org) is an independent, not-for-profit international development organisation working towards the elimination of avoidable blindness. Founded in Australia in 1992, The Foundation helps to create sustainable eye care systems in more than 25 countries, including Lao PDR.

  The Fred Hollows Foundation has a long-standing collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National Ophthalmology Center, acquiring expertise in identifying national and provincial needs for eye care development, curriculum development and student selection, technical standards and supervision of eye care service delivery.

  Eye examination in the provincial hospital in Bolikhamxay, newly renovated by LAO/027, ©LuxDev

  The LAO/027 Programme and the Fred Hollows Foundation entered into a synergic collaboration agreement (September 2018 – December 2020), to provide complementary support for the capacity development and training of ophthalmology staff in the provinces of Bolikhamxay, Khammouane and Vientiane Province.

  This partnership aims to support the national health authorities in organising 18 six-month ophthalmology specialist nurse courses, eight one-year “Basic Eye Doctor Courses (BED)” for newly graduated medical doctors, and 10 three-year Ophthalmology Specialists Residencies in Lao PDR and Thailand.

  Along with the trainings, LAO/027 is also supporting the upgrade of eye care out-patient and surgery facilities in the provincial hospitals. The newly trained eye health staff will provide eye care through community outreach activities, such as cataract surgery.

  While infectious eye diseases such as trachoma were virtually eliminated in Lao PDR over the last decades, the country still struggles to provide adequate care for aging-related eye diseases such as cataract and glaucoma. More prevalent in rural areas, these diseases cause poor vision and blindness, resulting in exclusion and a lower quality of life for the elderly. It is estimated that nationwide, only one third of serious cataract cases are being treated, and often still by sub-standard procedures.

  The ophthalmic nurses graduation session, © LuxDev

  The students graduated on Luxembourg Development Cooperation scholarships will be posted at provincial and district hospitals for delivering eye care services in hospitals and in remote parts of the country. They will also be educating communities about avoidable blindness, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and provincial health departments.

• LAOS - International Nurses Day Celebration promotes patient-centred care in Luxembourg supported hospitals

  Published on 4 July 2019    By Siraphat, Pikul, Nootjareerat   

  Each year in May, it has become a worldwide tradition to celebrate the founding of modern nursing as introduced by Ms Florence Nightingale, who gained fame for her pioneering work in training and organising nursing care during the Crimean War (1853-56), during which she cared for wounded soldiers.

  In the Lao PDR, three provincial hospitals in the provinces of Bolikhamxay, Khammouane and Vientiane being supported by the LAO/027 programme. These provincial hospitals provide medical, surgical and obstetrical referral care for a total population of 1.1 million, as well as technical supervision to 28 district hospitals and 178 primary care health centres across the three provinces.

  The above-mentioned hospitals have also embraced the International Nurses Day Celebration tradition since several years, to promote the importance of a modern nurses’ professional corps, which acts as an interface between doctors and patients, rendering quality hospital care effective and responsive to needs and aspirations of patients.

  

  Poster of Nurse Day Celebration 2019 in Bolikhamxay hospital.

  The LAO/027 programme has been progressively upgrading the medical and nursing practice and management in these hospitals to modern standards, through the provision of equipment, renovations, scholarships and intensive in-situ training, coaching and supervision by a dedicated team of external senior nurse-midwife experts since its start in 2014. Health care has been upgraded equally in district and village health facilities, for both curative and preventive care, with a focus on mother’s, new-born’s and children’s health.

  

  Nurses Day Celebration 2019 in Bolikhamxay provincial hospital

  

  Nurses Day Celebration 2019 in Khammouane provincial hospital

  The 2019 Nurses Day celebrations in the hospitals of Bolikhamxay and Khammouane were held in May, presided by high-level administrative and sanitary officials, and were attended by medical doctors, nurse professionals and students.

  Oral presentations and posters highlighted the progress accomplished over the last year in nursing techniques and organisation, and allowed nursing staff to take pride in their work and renew their commitment towards ad continuous quality improvement mechanism that will be an ongoing challenge for many years to come.

  

  Joyful advocacy for hand-disinfection practice among nurse students, during the celebration in Khammouane hospital.

  

  Officials learn from poster presentations prepared by Bolikhamxay nurses.

   

   

• LAOS - Reinforcement of public funding and financial management

  Published on 23 June 2019    By Frank HAEGEMAN   

  On 15 May 2019, HE Prof Dr Bounkong Syhavong, Minister of Health of Lao PDR, presided an inter-ministerial meeting of the National Council overseeing the Lao-Luxembourg LAO/027 Programme’s “Joint Participatory Mechanism” (JPM). 

  

  Women and children attending village health clinic

  The JPM is an innovative financing mechanism, by which the LAO/027 Programme multiplies provincial government budgets annually on a common imprest account, for the timely provision of mother and child health services in three central provinces of Laos (population 1.1 Million). Application of the JPM multiplier formula is based upon well-defined budget-activity plans, timely imprest account deposits by the government and detailed target indicators on service quality, outputs and outcome.

  The JPM began in 2018, following a previous 10-year experience of direct delegation agreement for Funds and Implementation.

  

  Joint Participatory Machanism National Secretariat national review meeting 1st quarter 2019

  The JPM aligns with the provincial budgetary planning cycles and provides effective and sufficient funding at the beginning of the fiscal year for the entire operational year. A transparent participative provincial planning process allows all district health system facilities (178 village health centres, 28 district hospitals) to receive operational budgets effectively and timely, through quarterly budget replenishment cycles.

  

  Provincial training on Joint Participatory Mechanism financial management training 

  The National Council meeting hosted high-ranking representatives from the Ministries of Health and Planning and Investment, as well as the Resident Representative of the World Health Organisation and Mr Sam Schreiner, Chargé d’affaires a.i. Embassy of Luxembourg in Vientiane Laos.

  

  Joint Participatory Machanism National Council Annual Meeting chaired by HE HE Prof Dr Bounkong Syhavong, Minister of Health of Lao PDR (thirth from the left) and co-chaired by Mr. Sam Schreiner, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Embassy of Luxembourg in Vientiane (seond from the left)

  During the recent meeting, the Council Members reviewed the results achieved during the first full year of JPM activities implementation in 2018, for a total budget of 1,082,136 EUR (20% MOH, 80% LAO/027 contributions), and endorsed the reports of the independent external auditors, stating a reconciled disbursement rate of 99% for the three provinces combined.

  The National Council furthermore examined the first quarterly progress report of the ongoing 2019-year budget-activity plans, and approved the provincial activity proposals for the 2020 budget cycle (total provincial and Luxembourg amount combined of 1,317,952 EUR)

  A JPM National Secretariat, embedded in the Ministry of Health, monitors quarterly the provincial results towards the achievement of the national targets for SDG 3 (Sustainable Development Goals for Health) and the national MCH policies and strategies. The Secretariat’s work is executed through the national Health Management information system and completed with supportive supervision and quarterly review and planning meetings.

   

• LAOS - Nurses and midwives receive short-term scholarships on High Risk Pregnancy and Nursing Care Management

  Published on 1 February 2019    By Frank HAEGEMAN   

  Six young nurse-midwifes from Bolikhamxay, Vientiane and Khammouane provincial hospitals recently received a 4-month training scholarship on “High Risk Pregnancy Management “at the Boromarajonani College of Nursing in Khon Kaen (BCNKK) in Thailand.

  In addition, the project offered scholarships to six young nurses, who are now working in intensive care or emergency units in the above-mentioned provincial hospitals. These students will study “Nursing Care Management for Trauma Patients" at the University of Khon Kaen, Faculty of Nursing.

  

  These 4-month intensive upgrading courses target the education of young and dynamic candidates. In terms of the beneficiaries, there is an even split between civil servants and volunteer staff.

  Investing in human resources for health is part of an ongoing effort of the LAO/027 project that aims to improve performance of health services delivery particularly for Maternal Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) activities in the project areas.

  Scholarship recipients, second row and four at the back row from the left.

• LAOS - Six midwives and nurses successfully graduated from a training course on High-Risk Pregnancy Nursing Care

  Published on 5 December 2018    By Outavong Phathammavong   

  The Lao-Luxembourg Health Sector Support Programme Phase II (LAO/027), recently offered six short-term scholarships to nurses and midwives from the provincial hospitals of Vientiane, Bolikhamxay and Khammouane province to attend a four-month training course on High-Risk Pregnancy Nursing Care at the Boromarajonani College of Nursing in Khon Kaen, Thailand.

  

   

  

  This short-term training started in August of this year, and the first group lately graduated after completing this course on quality nursing and midwifery training. Several additional groups of dedicated nursing staff will benefit from this regionally based short-term scholarship over the next two years. 

  The LAO/027 programme offers a comprehensive package of long and short-term scholarships to both volunteers and civil servants as part of its human resource capital development programme.

   

   

   

   

   

• LAOS - Official launch of the new Luxembourg-funded Bolikhamxay provincial hospital

  Published on 10 July 2018    By Peter Heimann, Frank Haegeman   

  A handing over ceremony of the brand new Bolikhamxay provincial hospital took place on 10 July 2018 in the provincial capital Pakxan.

  The ceremony was attended by Associate Professor Dr Bounkong Syhavong, Minister of Health, PhD Mr Kongkeo Xaysongkham, Governor of Bolikhamxay Province, PhD Mr Kikeo Chanthabouly, Deputy-Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Mr Claude Jentgen, Chargé d’affaires at the Luxembourg Embassy in Vientiane, senior officials from the concerned Ministries of Bolikhamxay Province and representatives from the Luxembourg Development Cooperation.

  

  The newly built hospital complex includes a new core development and renovation of buildings from the old provincial facilities.

  The new complex has been designed to function as the referral centre for Bolikhamxay but will also perform as the teaching and training centre for the comprehensive and expanded programme of human resource capital development supported by the Luxembourg Development Cooperation.

  

  The hospital includes a modern technical block of three high-tech operating theatres, a central sterilizing department, an expanded maternity department complete with two delivery suites, radiology and laboratory departments incorporating bacteriology and hematology specialties.

  

  

  Specialized outpatient services include dentistry, physiotherapy, Ear-Nose-Throat and Eye clinics.

  Inpatient services have been designed to focus on patient-centred quality of care. Dedicated resting and open spaces have been provided to facilitate a friendly climate for both patients and staff. Dedicated overnight shelters for families are foreseen in the next phase.

  This development is part of the long-standing support to the Lao health sector support project LAO/027 by the Luxembourg Development Cooperation. The focus is on health system strengthening and it is fully aligned with the national health sector reform strategy. In addition to supporting human resource capacity development, health financing, provincial governance and improvements to quality in service delivery, the construction and provision of equipment underpin the establishment of a suitable enabling environment.

  

  The facility serves a population of 285,000 inhabitants and is the reference centre for seven district hospitals and 40 health centres. The hospital complex employs 180 staff members, of which 30 are medical doctors and specialists and 75 nurses and midwives. Based on previous months’ operations, the projected 2018 attendance figures are 35,000 external out-patients visits, including 1,500 dental and 2,800 ophthalmology patients. A total of 140 beds are equipped for 7,000 hospitalisations, 1,100 deliveries and 1,400 surgery cases, among which 200 are expected to be caesarean sections. More than 25,000 laboratory examinations, 10,000 radiology and echo examinations are forecast during 2018. Currently, the bed occupancy rate is 83 per cent.

  

  The hospital services scope is also fully compliant with the recently issued “Essential Health Services Package 2018-2020”. The facility also provides preventive services, focused on mother and child care, while the recent Ministry of Health Insurance Initiative will increasingly reach the more vulnerable segments of the population with equitable health care.

  

  

  

  The work started in August 2015 and was completed in April 2018. Luxembourg contributed 2,965,000 USD for the construction of the 4,800 square meters central facility and 2,300 square meters of ancillary services such as the technical maintenance department, waste management, central medical gasses infrastructure, parking lots and landscaping. An additional 980,000 USD was provided on high-end medical equipment, instruments and medical furniture.  

  

  Although building construction and medical equipment installation is completed, some works are ongoing and are planned in 2018-19, including the renovation of the administration building, an additional general medicine ward, a joint venture ophthalmology operation theatre, emergency room and hospital link, pharmacy store and laundry services.

  

  

  The LAO/027 project will continue to provide onsite technical expertise in hospital management, nursing and midwifery. Collaboration with third-party organizations will complement the onsite expertise to strengthen the quality of services. A three-year dedicated programme of scholarships and regional partnerships is operational for the upgrading of skills of health care providers at both the new facility and in the province.

• Laos - First births in new Bolikhamxay provincial hospital !

  Published on 21 June 2018    By Benoît SANTIQUIAN   

  The new Bolikhamxay provincial hospital has been welcoming its first newborns. This hospital, supported by Lao-Luxembourg Health Sector Support Program Phase II (LAO/027), will help to improve health care services in Bolikhamxay and contribute to reducing provincial maternal, neonatal and child mortality rates.