Supporting water services in small towns: the experience of GoAL WASH programme in Lao PDR

In Lao PDR, it is estimated that more than 80 small towns (approximately 65% of all small towns in Lao PDR) and 5,000 remote villages (approximately 50% of all villages) lack water supply services. The GoAL WaSH programme, a global initiative lead by UNDP and focused on supporting water and sanitation governance has addressed this challenge in Lao, in partnership with UN-Habitat. Up to now, the project has been successful in developing and obtaining approval for a national strategy for water and sanitation in Emerging Towns, and this has been complemented with operational tools for adapting technology and costs to the size of these towns. The adaptation of raw water treatment plant designs to small towns has been especially developed. Combining a governance approach with piloting initiatives in the field has proved to be very effective for getting full support and ownership from the Government.