Social development

Cambodia will support the Don Sahong hydroelectric dam planned to be built in south Laos less than two kilometers from the Cambodian border, while civil society groups continue to appeal to regional authorities to halt construction on environmental grounds. According to a post on Prime ...

Activists are pushing for heavier penalties for those who sexually abuse or rape children, with a signboard campaign over the weekend held at Mandalay’s Manaw Yaman public square on 62nd Street. The public display was part of a 16-day campaign, which began on November 25, run ...

The past few years have been tumultuous in the food industry. Unfortunate food safety incidents eroded consumer’s trust in the food supply chain, and we saw food governing bodies step up to implement new regulations and update old practices. The China milk scandal and the ...

Myanmar continues to have had only one confirmed case of Zika virus after test results for dozens of suspected cases have all led to negatives. A six-year-old from Lanma­daw township was one of more than 50 patients exhibiting Zika-like symptoms who were tested by the ...

The National League for Democracy’s patron championed the importance of education while acknowledging that some are eager for more rapid improvements to the system at a ceremony marking the 96th anniversary of National Day at the party’s headquarters on November 24. “In this era, there are ...

While one government ministry gave approval to a Chinese company to collect yellow vine in Koh Kong province, another ministry told the provincial governor on November 24 to halt the construction of processing facilities for the vine, according to letters obtained on November 24. The Ministry ...

Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals, effective development partnerships, food and nutrition security, green growth, climate change and disaster response preparedness are cross-sectoral topics of discussion between the government and development partners this year. Experts from the government and development partners’ representative agencies began discussion on ...

Human trafficking continues to flourish within the region, requiring a joint effort by the Mekong countries to actively stamp out the trade and penalise those responsible. Human trafficking is harmful to socio-economic development and social order in the region and could worsen when the ASEAN Economic ...

Myanmar is set to receive a portion of a US$117 million Asian Development Bank loan aimed at combating emerging infectious diseases. The Greater Mekong Subregion Health Security Project will target outbreaks in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The loan is meant to boost access to ...

The number of new Lao HIV-contracted cases annually is trending upwards because at risk groups are having unsafe sex and receiving treatment too late, National Committee to Combat HIV/AIDS reported on November 23. Currently, there are some 11,500 people living with HIV in Laos with ...