USAID Legal Aid Support, a four-year activity funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), helps the Lao People’s Democratic Republic promote the rule of law through the fairer, more consistent and more transparent delivery of justice according to the law – inclusive of women, the poor and traditionally underserved populations.

USAID Local Solutions Support, a four-year activity funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), provides a wide range of support to non-profit associations (NPAs) in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, helping to boost their organizational capacity and improve their effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability.

USAID Learn to Read, a five-year project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will complement government efforts to improve reading skills for children from the pre-primary level to second grade in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. With a special focus on children who do not speak Lao and children with disabilities, the activity will help to improve the quality of basic education in the country.

On November 4, a UN–Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) convoy reached the informal Rukban settlement—located along the Syria–Jordan border berm—from Syria’s capital city of Damascus, delivering food, health, nutrition, and other assistance sufficient for 50,000 people, according to the UN. In addition, the UN simultaneously vaccinated children against measles and polio at the settlement. Access to humanitarian assistance has remained limited for settlement residents since mid-January, when a UN operation from Jordan last delivered food and relief commodities to Rukban.