Today in Vientiane, Minister of Health Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysith and Vice Minister of Home Affairs Mr Nisith Keopanya updated Ministries, Provincial Governors, mass organizations, and development partners on the significant progress made by CONNECT - the Ministries’ flagship community engagement and local governance-strengthening initiative.
Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, CONNECT is a Ministry of Health and Ministry of Home Affairs-led initiative, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), focusing on building trust between healthcare providers and communities, working closely with local leaders to strengthen governance, planning and coordination, and increasing access to essential healthcare such as vaccinations and maternal and child healthcare, and promoting birth registrations.
Following deployment to more than 230 in-need villages across 10 provinces to date, the Ministers shared recent results from a survey totaling 3161 responses across multiple provinces. Key highlights include marked increases in community trust in local healthcare providers, and perceived ownership of village health outcomes. Additionally, the research found a 14% increase in women giving birth in health centres compared to before CONNECT implementation (among 144 recently pregnant women), and a 43% increase in women reporting health centres as their planned place to give birth (among 67 pregnant women).
“These results represent a marked, positive impact on the health of mothers, children and community members, enabled by stronger governance and coordination at a community level,” said Minister Phoummalaysith.
“We look forward to continuing the development and deployment of CONNECT to reach those most in need and addressing local challenges by empowering and better enabling local leaders, officials and healthcare workers. This milestone is possible thanks to the support of WHO and our committed partners, USAID, the Australian Government and Luxembourg, as well as historic partners who supported us amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Empowering, strengthening and supporting local authorities and their communities is key to improving services to villages, village health, development and prosperity,” said Mr Nisith Keopanya. "To achieve this, and ensure our services continue to meet the needs of our people across health and other sectors, we must collaborate and work together – this initiative is a strong example of partnership, with meaningful results.”
Through CONNECT, thousands of doctors, nurses, midwives, community health volunteers, village ethnic and religious leaders, and officials from mass organizations, have been supported to improve coordination and deliver better health services and outcomes for those they serve. During the event, participants heard from community leaders and healthcare workers who have delivered transformative changes.
Speaking at the event, WHO Representative Dr Timothy Armstrong said: “While these are early results, it is heartening to see the impact of this initiative where it matters most – in communities, for families, parents and children, across vaccination, maternal health, and many other areas – in both the data, and the voices of those most in need.”
“It was important to discuss how to ensure the sustainability and longevity of this important initiative, and its expansion to other ministries and health-connected mandates, in the spirit of health for all.”
Since its launch amid the COVID-19 pandemic, CONNECT will have expanded to reach 14 of Lao PDR’s provinces by the end of 2024, and plans to reach all provinces in the coming years.
Following the national expansion, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Home Affairs are exploring options to institutionalize CONNECT to ensure sustainability of the initiative, broaden its efforts to additional sectors and stakeholders, as well as integrate CONNECT insights and learnings into formal health sector education programmes.
CONNECT is currently supported by WHO, with assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Australian Government, and Luxembourg.