Water for Women - Lao PDR

Leaving no one behind in community-led total sanitation and strengthened climate resilience

From 2023 to 2024 Water for Women partnered with SNV to deliver Towards Climate-Resilient Inclusive WASH Services in Rural Lao PDR reaching 237,046* people across the districts of Atsaphone, Champhone and Phalanxay in Savannakhet province. This project was an extension of Beyond the Finish Line (2018 to 2022) which reached 149,993 people. SNV's Water for Women project finished delivery in December 2024.

Partner: SNV Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV)

Locations: Atsaphone, Champhone and Phalanxay Districts, Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR

Focus areas: Community-led total sanitation, empowering women in leadership and business, capacity-building for strengthened climate resilience

In Lao PDR’s most populous province of Savannakhet, SNV supported significant progress towards ending open defecation during Phase 1 of Water for Women, strategically targeting different groups at-risk of being left behind in community-led total sanitation (CLTS) and supporting capacity-building among community and government stakeholders, which included best practise approaches to enhance women’s leadership.

In the Extension Phase, the emphasis on integrating climate resilience into WASH services and systems led to a notable increase in the capacity of local government actors and their ability to utilise climate-risk informed tools and approaches. This is specifically evident in the capacity to conduct climate-adapted CLTS, water safety plans (WSPs) and planning and response measures in climate events. District and provincial government partners identified that their capacities and processes in these specific were strengthened, which was accompanied by strengthened community leadership. At the community level, identified improvements included ensuring climate-appropriate sanitation facilities are constructed, improved water safety measures, and strengthened coordination responses to climate events. Participatory approaches introduced and documented supported not only increased knowledge, but also clarity on roles and practical steps for stakeholders to contribute towards improved services.

Listening to people's experiences during climate events and how these impacted their access to water and sanitation is a crucial first step in understanding the vulnerabilities of women and marginalised groups, which contributes to defining what resilient and inclusive WASH truly means in communities targeted by the project (SNV Lao PDR)

In total, some 387,039* people were reached over the seven years of this Water for Women project. In the final two years, 237,046* of these people gained improved access to climate-resilient inclusive WASH.

The project also supported increased inclusive climate-resilience capacities of:

• 764 people directly involved in WASH service delivery, including sub-national government, health care staff, educators and local leadership.
• 50 schools and 22 healthcare facilities.

An additional 1,721,930 people have indirectly benefitted

Addressing policy and practise gaps to strengthen climate resilience

Severe macroeconomic challenges, including inflation and resource shortages, constrained government financing for WASH services. Approaches were heavily reliant on local government as change agents, reflecting their role as duty bearers in their jurisdiction, but with limited budgets and accountability to deliver strengthened WASH services.

Through the Towards Climate-Resilient Inclusive WASH Services in Rural Lao PDR project in the Extension Phase, SNV contributed to addressing a policy and practice gap through considerable contributions to the national water safety planning revisions, ensuring that guidelines address the needs of self-supplied water users. The local government’s prioritisation of sanitation and coordinated action to achieve the national open defecation free (ODF) target provided additional opportunities for the project to leverage Phase 1 sanitation gains to support further progress towards ODF status across Savannakhet.

Strong support from research partner, the University of Technology Sydney -  Institute for Sustainable Futures, and CBM, enabled the SNV project team to integrate best practices into approaches and capacity development resources. And targeted training programs integrated climate risk and adaptation strategies into tools for 50 schools and 22 healthcare facilities.

A learning exchange between Lao PDR WASH leaders and business owners and Cambodian counterparts in Siem Reap, Cambodia, also inspired new ideas for technologies, behaviour change communications and governance approaches. The learning exchange was a transformative experience that facilitated peer-to-peer learning in partnership with the iDE Water for Women project team. Participants saw in action new market-based approaches, climate-resilient toilet designs, and post-ODF governance initiatives. This boosted motivation and ideas for adapting to the Lao PDR context.

Ms Thitsamai Nonpasith from Lao PDR (left) and Ms Hat Tin from Cambodia (right), are passionate about their roles as sanitation entrepreneurs, even in a sector dominated by men (iDE / Clare Meyer)

View more photo updates from our work in Lao PDR

 Transformative community-level action

Issues related to accessibility and barriers to WASH services and core concepts of inclusivity were mainstreamed across activities, tools, and communications used throughout the project. With technical support from CBM, this also ensured an integrated approach that systematically considered the inclusivity of WASH services. Community-level action transformed attitudes toward disabilities, reducing stigma and improving the participation of people with disabilities in village activities.

Through the disability working groups, people with disabilities, their families and caregivers were supported to enhance their knowledge of options to improve accessibility, such as addressing access to and from facilities and the design of accessible infrastructure. Guiding this process throughout the project also led to increased capacity of duty bearers, including key stakeholders in the Department of Health and the Department for Labor and Social Welfare, to support people with disabilities on an ongoing basis. Alongside this, private sector sanitation suppliers were provided training and support to provide customers with a disability and their families options and guidance on accessibility for the toilets.

Active participatory processes fostered local ownership and shared understanding of WASH-related challenges and pathways to strengthen WASH systems across different stakeholders. Further, the integration of climate resilience concepts into existing WASH tools helped to ensure clearer understanding and the ability to utilise these in the future.

Read:
Adapting behaviour change strategies to the climate crisis

A multi-faceted approach to demand creation resulted in further progress in the use of improved sanitation by 23,557 people across the project locations.

Capacity development of provincial and district-level government partners has been a key priority throughout the project. A comprehensive, participatory program has been deployed to increase understanding and ability to take practical steps to enhance the inclusivity and resilience of WASH services (SNV Lao PDR)

Empowering women leaders and leadership for sustainable outcomes

"In the past, I received many trainings on gender equality from NGOs and civil society organisations, but those trainings rarely reached the community level. This project has shown me a different approach to implementing activities. It has empowered the Lao Women’s Union at the village level to lead initiatives and collaborate with male village authorities. This has strengthened the capacity of the union members, giving them opportunities to demonstrate their abilities and leadership by delivering messages through loudspeakers and engaging with communities. As a result, communities now recognise the active role of the Lao Women’s Union, beyond simply listening to male voices."

Mrs. Soupharp, Lao Women’s Union, Phalanxay District

To ensure that no one is left behind, gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) was systematically integrated into the design and implementation of project activities, engaging all groups of people in meaningful ways. The objectives were to empower both men and women to lead change and serve as role models in their communities for inclusive practices. The project increased the visibility and engagement of marginalised groups in WASH governance. Efforts focused on building the capacity of the Women's Union and Laos Disability People’s Association (LDPA) to participate in project activities and capacity development opportunities. Community-level activities sought to challenge restrictive social norms, particularly around women’s participation in decision-making.

Despite government-mandated pathways for Women’s Union members to engage in decision-making, participation was limited due to low confidence and social norms discouraging leadership. To address this, the project promoted visibility and voice, such as involving Women’s Union representatives as village announcers for WASH news — typically a male role. Engaging male leaders in village authorities and the Lao Youth Union emerged as a promising strategy to build support for women’s roles in WASH governance, leveraging their influence to shift community norms.

Menstrual health and hygiene training and discussions in schools and communities was used as an entry point to normalise women's voices in WASH discussions, fostering broader gender equality. Topics of menstrual hygiene and disability inclusion also increased awareness at a local government level and shifted some attitudes towards women’s roles in WASH.

"Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) is a new and sensitive focus for the WASH in Schools program, particularly in schools with predominantly male teachers. It was often considered a shameful topic that no one wanted to discuss. This project has brought significant changes at the school, community, and district levels. After receiving training on MHH and implementing it in schools, many teachers have placed greater importance on preparing sanitary pads for emergencies and now feel confident teaching both girls and boys about fostering a supportive, non-judgmental environment. These efforts have reduced bullying and harassment, creating a more inclusive atmosphere."

Mr. Bounaun, Education and Sports Department, Champhone District

Participatory community activities, such as the disability working groups, have been a key vehicle to build awareness of and strengthen inclusivity of WASH services (SNV Lao PDR / Malaphone Inthilath)

Lessons learnt

A critical challenge at the beginning of the Extension Phase was the limited understanding among all stakeholders of climate resilience, its specific meaning and application to WASH services and intersection with inclusion. Important steps were needed to establish a baseline understanding of the concept and ensure it related to tangible and practical considerations.

The project ensured that climate resilience became a systematic part of operational procedures by incorporating modules on climate risks, hazards, and adaptation into established tools like WSP and sanitation marketing. This approach minimised the need to create entirely new frameworks, focusing instead on adapting and strengthening what already existed.

Capacity development of provincial and district-level government partners was a key priority throughout the project. A comprehensive participatory program supported increased understanding and ability to take practical steps to enhance the inclusivity and resilience of WASH services.

When considering the intersectionality of climate risks and inclusion, this requires adaptable and nuanced approaches to address specific barriers. This is a major hinderance to advancing inclusive services, primarily because participation of marginalised groups remains persistently low. Women’s participation in decision-making remains limited, particularly in ethnic minority communities where leadership by women is often socially unacceptable. Even within the Women’s Union, there is reluctance to take on meaningful roles. 

Secondly, in the Lao PDR context, standardised tools and procedures for government teams and community leadership are the norm across WASH (and indeed other sectors). Attention needs to be paid to explicitly include participatory aspects and a long-term program to build awareness, understanding and capacity to implement these in an effective way.

Explore: Case studies, success stories and WASH tools from this project

• Accelerating Lao PDR's sanitation journey to meet the 2025 target 
• Climate vulnerability of water and sanitation services in rural Savannakhet
  
• Inspiring local governments to mainstream climate action into WASH
• Climate hero toolkit
• Climate change and rural sanitation in Laos
  
• Lesson from Providing Material sanitation subsidies to last-Mile Household in Savannakhet Province Lao PDR
  
• Mainstreaming climate risk into rural sanitation programming in Lao PDR
  

• Realising safely managed sanitation in Lao PDR

• Door to Door toilet sales
  
• Group toilet sales event
  
• Strengthening stakeholders' capacity to mainstream GESI in WASH
• SNV Lao PDR latrine inform choice

Looking ahead

Climate hazards such as flooding, droughts, storms, heat waves, and erosion vastly affect the region. These threats exacerbate the challenges of ensuring the population has sustainable access to basic water and sanitation services.

There is still much to be done to advance access to improved sanitation in Lao PDR, and in Savannakhet in particular, to consolidate ODF progress and safely managed challenges. The approaches and tools developed under Water for Women will be used in subsequent projects aimed at advancing access to improved sanitation in 2025 (including a confirmed project that is engaging SNV in three additional districts of Savannakhet province).

The valuable lessons learnt, research and tools developed under Water for Women will be further circulated within the wider Lao PDR WASH sector. Knowledge, insights and active research carried out under the project will be taken forward to support ongoing policy and guidelines revision and the 2025 national WASH joint sector review. In particular, the progress on water safety plan piloting and the climate vulnerability assessment will help to inform challenges and opportunities.

"It has been a privilege to be part of the team that received training and led the Disability Working Group activities at the community level. As a district administrative staff member, I previously had limited opportunities to participate in activities like this. Through the project, I have witnessed remarkable changes in community attitudes, particularly towards people with disabilities. In the past, some communities believed that disabilities were a result of sin or that pregnant women could risk having a child with a disability if they interacted with people with disabilities. These misconceptions led to exclusion from community activities. Now, there is greater acceptance and support, with people with disabilities being welcomed and encouraged to participate in various activities. Community behaviour has shifted to become more inclusive and supportive."

Mrs. Nathanith, Labour and Social Welfare Department, Champhone District

Feature photo: Climate-resilient latrines are never high enough. As climate change increases flooding in Lao PDR, the water marks left on this latrine show how they can never be high enough (SNV Lao PDR / Bart Verweij)

*Phase 1 beneficiaries were calculated from those who achieved WASH access. Extension Phase beneficiaries were calculated from those who achieved WASH access as well as climate change outcomes. Totals were determined based on outcomes reported by individual projects. See Our Impact.