Women leading disaster risk responses in Lao PDR

District leader Ms Khanthaly Sangaloun is working to prepare her district for the impacts of climate change (SNV / Thepphakone Sykhammountry)

In rural Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR, local leader Ms Khanthaly Sangaloun is helping her community understand the current and future climate risks facing their region. Ms Sangaloun leads the district Disaster Response Committee, a taskforce that places her at the forefront of local responses to climate emergencies. Ms Sangaloun and other local leaders are spearheading actions to drive community climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

Lao PDR is already grappling with the devastating impacts of the climate crisis. A 2022 study by SNV found that 48% of households in Savannakhet had experienced several days of flooding in the past two years. Of these, 54% reported property damage, impacting their farms and livelihoods.

Climate change exacerbates existing inequalities. Climate-related events impact water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, and these disproportionately affect women, children, and other marginalised groups. Despite being more exposed to the impacts of climate change, women remain underrepresented in leadership and decision-making about water resource management, WASH services and climate change. Increased women’s participation at all levels is vital to strengthen climate resilience in communities.

Local leaders like Ms Sangaloun are working to make their district's water resources and WASH systems more resilient to climate challenges. With support from Australia, SNV is supporting this important work through their Water for Women project, Towards Climate-Resilient Inclusive WASH Services in Rural Lao PDR. 

Building on SNV’s previous Water for Women project, Beyond the Finish Line: Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All, completed in 2022, this project facilitates government learning, budgeting and planning to build the capacity of local authorities in climate preparedness and resilience. The project also mainstreams gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI) through WASH programming, including a focus on fostering increased women’s leadership. 

Like many of her colleagues, Ms Sangaloun had a limited understanding of the links between climate preparedness and inclusive WASH service delivery. Alongside other local leaders, Ms Sangaloun participated in training with SNV that involved conducting a climate vulnerability assessment to understand the impacts of climate change on WASH services, creating water safety plans for district water resources, and forming inclusive community WASH committees. 

Armed with this newfound knowledge, Ms Sangaloun is fortifying her district against the impacts of climate change. She emphasises:

"Increasing awareness of climate-resilient, inclusive WASH services is crucial for enhancing people’s knowledge and capacity to reduce risks. This preparation will improve responses to disasters in the future."

SNV is committed to supporting more leaders like Ms Sangaloun in adapting to and integrating climate resilience into rural WASH services and systems. In partnership with government authorities, private sector actors, local leaders and communities, SNV is supporting local capacity development to identify the most vulnerable areas and groups and prioritise the allocation of resources and interventions to support them to mitigate several WASH and human development-related risks and costs of climate change. The current Water for Women project aims to directly benefit an estimated 230,035* people across the districts of Atsaphone, Champhone and Phalanxay in Savannakhet province by the end of the year.

*Project targets are based on partner Civil Society Organisations (CSO) baseline studies. Project targets are updated periodically in response to changes in context as appropriate. To see our latest progress towards targets, see our progress.