Home Menu Search

Keeping road safety reform rolling in the Lao PDR

15 June 2023

With an expanding road network and rapid rise in vehicle ownership, road safety has become a major public health issue in the Lao PDR. Road crashes are the leading cause of death among children and young people, and the single greatest cause of disability across all age groups. Cumulatively, the impact on the national economy is substantial, leading to estimated economic losses of around five percent of GDP.

This blog from The World Bank highlights how efforts to reduce road trauma in Laos face several challenges. Much of the existing road network does not follow safe design principles; road planners and engineers have limited knowledge and experience; there are gaps in policies and regulations; compliance with traffic rules is weak; and emergency care and rehabilitation services are rudimentary. Moreover, development partner support for road safety is limited.

Since 2019 the World Bank Laos country team has made two successful grant applications to the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF), a global multi-donor fund which is hosted by the World Bank and helps governments develop road safety management capacity and scale up road safety in low- and middle-income countries.

Related news, events and information

Major Advancement in Global Road Safety

14 June 2024 – In a landmark move, the World Bank has established a dedicated Road Safety Unit , making it the first...

Global Road Safety Week

30 April 2013 – In many countries, collisions with pedestrians are a leading cause of death and injury. In some countries over...

The high toll of traffic injuries : unacceptable and preventable

2 February 2018 – According to a recent report by the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility, low- and middle-income countries...

EuroRAP: Investing in safer road infrastructure

18 April 2020 – Story by Caitlin Magee for the Innovation News Network. Road accidents cost Europe €280bn annually - the...

A road safety agenda for 2018: Lord Robertson urges global parliamentary action

17 January 2018 – Story from the FIA Foundation. Lord Robertson Chairman of the FIA Foundation Writing for the Parliamentary...

Ten Step Plan - Tanzania

9 December 2023 – Tanzania is the first country to have deployed the UN Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) Ten Step Plan for Safer...

New Global Road Safety Target

16 September 2019 – The UN Secretary-General's report on improving global road safety, prepared by the World Health Organization in...

The World Bank

16 December 2020 – The World Bank has elevated its commitment to road safety to be stronger than ever before. The WB adopted a...

Additional UK Government Support for Global Road Safety

14 July 2009 – The UK Department for International Development (DFID), which sponsors gTKP, is to join the World Bank Global...