In 2014-15, with the support of SPRI Global, UNICEF published the “Lao PDR – National Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis” report, presenting an analysis of children’s multidimensional poverty in Lao PDR based on 2011 data from the Lao Social Indicator Survey (LSIS I), with the support of the National Economic Research Institute, line ministries, and other national and governmental partners. The report focused on children under age 5 years and shed a light on the most pressing challenges they face in meeting their basic needs and achieving their rights according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The outcome of the reports was instrumental in not only monitoring the situation of children from a multidimensional perspective, but also in developing programming and policy to best address the unfulfilled rights of children as revealed by the analysis. With the publication of this report, Lao PDR was among the first countries to respond to the need for data collection and analysis for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the situation of children in line with the 2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, which calls for the reduction of, “…at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions” by 2030.

In 2018, SPRI Global supported UNICEF Lao PDR in an updated analysis, based on 2017 data. The outcome report, “Measuring Progress on Child Wellbeing in Lao PDR”, builds on the analysis published in 2014-15. The analysis uses the Lao Social Indicator Survey (LSIS II) dataset collected in 2017, to best capture the current situation of unmet needs and rights of children under age 18 years in Lao PDR. With this study, Lao PDR continues to be an international pioneer in prioritizing an understanding of the situation of its children through evidence-based, child-sensitive analysis. These actions reflect Lao PDR’s commitment to the international Sustainable Development agenda as well as the national poverty reduction agenda, both components of national ambitions for LDC graduation by 2024. The analysis uses the UNICEF Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis toolbox to describe and unpack the situation of multidimensional child poverty in Lao PDR, with sensitivity to children’s lifecycle-specific and contextualized needs and rights.