WFP Lao PDR Food Security Monitoring – Remote Household Food Security Survey Brief (October 2022) – Lao People’s Democratic Republic (the)

In Transient

One in seven households in Lao PDR are meals insecure (14 %).1 The trajectory of the meals safety scenario stays unsure, with a steady month-to-month improve in costs for key commodities. Inflation rose to 37 % in October from 34 % in September. Further monitoring of the scenario within the coming months will stay essential to informing motion.

Meals insecurity is affecting totally different elements of the nation unequally. In some districts, round 28 % of households are food-insecure, whereas in others, 3 % of households are foodinsecure. Meals insecurity decreased in city areas, particularly in Vientiane Capital. Notably, rural areas are extra food-insecure (17 %) than these in city areas (7 %). The distinction is especially evident in Vientiane Capital (3 %).

Households with dropping incomes are particularly affected. These dealing with a major discount in revenue (>50 %) are greater than twice as prone to be food-insecure (22 %) than households with incomes that stayed the identical or elevated (10 %).

Greater than half of the inhabitants is counting on coping methods to place meals on the desk and meet different important wants. In comparison with September, households resorting to livelihoodbased coping methods elevated to 63 % from 57 %, whereas the variety of households using emergency coping methods additionally elevated. This means a rise in vulnerability amongst households. The most typical methods are spending financial savings (43 %), chopping down on well being expenditure (19 %), and borrowing to purchase meals (19 %). The heavy reliance on coping methods by households in Lao PDR is alarming, which signifies households’ diminishing means to answer totally different shocks sooner or later.

In comparison with September, persons are much less nervous about meals worth will increase. Some 23 % of households stay involved concerning the rise in meals costs, whereas 30 % indicated that they didn’t have any considerations. The rise in meals costs is excessive in city areas given the heavy reliance on markets as the principle supply of meals.