UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Visit Laos, But What He See?
A look at existing conditions in communist Pathet Lao ruled Laos, one of the world's poorest and most corrupt nations inhabited by six million people.
PRESS FREEDOM
In Laos, there is only one "legal" full-time photojournalist given "official" permission by Pathet Lao to do photojournalism work there on a daily
basis out in the open and he contributes to AFP….. Laos ranked 161st out of 169 countries listed in the 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index.
HEALTHCARE
Organized healthcare in rural Laos is virtually non-existent. Basic medicine such as aspirin is unavailable in the countryside
where doctors earn $40-60 USD per month and diagnostic equipment is scarce. Take the case of sixteen-year-
old Khenemone Chanmeechai, a resident of the National Rehabilitation Center (NRC) in Vientiane, Laos.
a one-hundred percent foreign funded institution comprised off roughly ten NGO's that provide a variety of services.
According to an NGO official, the facility receives no funding from the Pathet Lao government.
EDUCATION
Typically, teachers in Laos earn $20 USD per month while trying to educate student bodies 120-400. Many schools are
comprised of main structures containing three or four classrooms along with a detached dirt floored bamboo bungalow reserved for the youngest students
FUTURE PLANS
Laos is a communist state inhabited by 6 million people, and ranks among the world's poorest nations. The country stands to win big if their
hydropower potential is tapped since Laos has 60,400 cubic meters of renewable water resources per capita, more than any other country in Asia………
Virtually all funding for the region's dam construction will come from China through state-owned financial institutions such as the Chinese Export-Import Bank.
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
According to The World Bank, one-half of Laotian citizens are living below the poverty line. Fifty to sixty percent of the populace still lives a
subsistence lifestyle…………….In Laos, rice grown by rural farmers in small villages is divided into thirds, the first third going to the communist government…………..40%
of the annual national budget some years, 40% of that amount goes directly to the Pathet Lao government payroll. Determining how important the
government views funding of education is difficult at best, for Laos ranked 168th Transparency International's 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) out of 179 countries listed.
