IFRC NETWORK ACTION IN 2023
Joint situational analysis
All four Mekong countries in this plan – Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – score differently on the Human Development Index (Vietnam 0.70, Thailand 0.77, Lao 0.61 and Cambodia 0.59). Despite this, they share common challenges and emerging risks such as rapid urbanization, climate change and environmental pressures, along with recurring disasters, health risks, rising inequalities, migration, gender discrimination and violence, and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cambodia
Having sustained high levels of economic growth over the last two decades, Cambodia is on the path to becoming a higher middle-income status country by 2030. However, high levels of inequality and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local economies are hampering growth. This is particularly true for the most vulnerable, marginalized rural populations, who were hit significantly harder by the pandemic’s effects on employment, household wages and non-wage incomes than macro-economic trends would suggest (UNICEF, 2021). At the 2021 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Cambodia remained categorized as a least developed country.
According to the Asian Development Bank, 14.5 per cent of the population across Cambodia was undernourished in 2017–2019. Stunting among children aged under five is 32.4 per cent and wasting among the same group is 9.7 per cent. Maternal mortality had reached 160 per 100,000 live births in 2017, and the mortality rate for children aged under five was 27 per 1,000 live births in 2019. Neonatal mortality stands at the rate of 15 per 1,000 live births. As of 2017, only 25.8 per cent of the population used safely managed to drink water services, with considerable differences between urban (56.6 per cent) and rural (16.7 per cent) populations.
Cambodia remains one of the world’s more disaster-prone countries, particularly due to seasonal flooding and droughts. Over the last 10 years, a succession of droughts and floods have resulted in significant loss of life and economic loss. Cambodia is a less developed, agrarian country, where more than 75 per cent of people live in rural areas, and there is a strong dependency on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, land, water resources, forestry and fisheries. Together, these factors make Cambodia particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and they are further exacerbated by weak adaptive capacity, poor infrastructure and limited institutional capacity. The Government recognizes floods and droughts as the main driver of poverty in the country, and rural households, particularly women in rural settings, are especially vulnerable to climate change and have more difficulty adapting to it.
Cambodia is in general highly exposed to water-related diseases, including diarrhoeal diseases, typhoid fever, leptospirosis, melioidosis, viral hepatitis, and schistosomiasis. The impact of climate change in Cambodia may also be increasing the risk of water- and vector-borne diseases, and the likelihood of epidemics. Drought, rains and particularly floods are linked with an increased risk of outbreaks of diseases including diarrhoea, cholera, dengue, malaria and respiratory tract infections. These outbreaks put additional strain on local health services in disasters. High temperatures also represent an environmental driver for vector-borne diseases such as dengue.
Laos
Like its neighbours, Laos has made impressive development gains in recent years, halving poverty and reducing malnutrition. The challenge now is to enable all Lao people to benefit from the country’s development, ensuring that the results of high economic growth, which have averaged more than 4.9 per cent for the past five years, are evenly distributed and translated into inclusive and sustainable human development.
Laos was ranked 137 out of 189 countries in the 2020 Human Development Report. Communities across the country are affected by frequent small-scale, recurrent disasters which have significant socio-economic impacts, making poor populations increasingly vulnerable and undermining their existing coping mechanisms. Laos also continues to deal with unexploded ordnance and bombs in many areas.
In recent months, Laos has seen high inflation at a rate at 23.6 per cent. Its currency depreciation against other currencies is making life harder for many, particularly the most vulnerable people who have less access to alternative livelihood options and who are dependent on tourism and other services.
Thailand
Over the last four decades, Thailand has made remarkable progress in social and economic development, moving from a low-income country to an upper-income country in less than a generation. It has the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, driven by manufacturing, agriculture and tourism. While poverty has declined over the last three decades (from 65 per cent in 1988 to nearly 10 per cent in 2018), income inequality has increased.
Thailand remains at risk of major disasters such as floods, tropical cyclones and droughts, as well as other risks related to health issues, which can cause economic loss as well as costing lives. Major health risks include pandemics, non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, and traffic accidents.
Vietnam
Vietnam has one of the fastest-growing economies of the 21st century. Economic and political reforms launched in 1986 have spurred rapid economic growth and development, transforming Vietnam from one of the world’s poorest nations to a lower-middle-income country. It has made significant progress towards its sustainable development goals, with poverty rates dropping from nearly 10 per cent in 2015 to less than seven per cent in 2017, and a primary net enrolment rate of 99 per cent.
Vietnam is also one of the countries most affected by climate change and is at continuous risk of disasters caused by natural hazards such as floods, tropical cyclones, landslides, droughts and heatwaves.
Source: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies