Pictured above: We train and support Village Health Volunteers like Som to help people stay healthy

Dear John,

Health Poverty Action has worked with communities in Laos for several decades to support people's health and livelihoods. We provide malaria testing and treatment through a network of over 500 Village Health Volunteers, reaching tens of thousands of people in remote areas.

Today, we hear from Som, who has served as a Village Health Volunteer in his community in Sepon district for five years. During this time, Som has seen his community go from panicking over frequent outbreaks of malaria to nearly eradicating the disease locally.

Som tells us: “I have learnt how to test, share knowledge and diagnose. With each house visit, I became known as a volunteer doctor. I am very pleased I have treated many infected people with severe conditions, and I really see how good health unlocks daily life: school attendance, farm yields, the calm of a good night’s sleep.”

Pictured above: We help Village Health Volunteers reach remote communities

Alongside his community, Som has witnessed the transformation of his village. Fear has been replaced by trust. People from high-risk areas are now quickly screened and connected with free treatment, and over time malaria cases have fallen to almost zero.

Som explains: “Malaria doesn’t announce its return; it slips in quietly, through a single traveller in the rainy season. Without tests, supervision, and refresher training, we risk missing the first spark, and it might outbreak again.

I want to protect what we’ve built: strong surveillance [and] ongoing community education. When knowledge and trust reach every doorstep, disease has nowhere to hide.”

Beyond malaria, Som supports his community with maternal and child health — following up with pregnant women, encouraging safe deliveries, and ensuring newborns receive vaccinations, while also helping prevent seasonal communicable diseases.

Pictured above: Community members respond to a malaria case being detected

As our Senior Provincial Project Officer in Savannakhet, the province that Sepon district is part of, Boun has seen how the hard work of Village Health Volunteers like Som has brought malaria to the brink of elimination. Boun has also seen how fragile that progress can be:

“The recent reduction in global funding has been more than a financial adjustment; it’s a structural shock.”

Less funding for District Health Facilitators mean volunteers and health workers lose the support they depend on to track data and keep services consistent. Boun insists this is the time to press on, not to step back:

“Malaria elimination is within reach, but cutting funding now would jeopardise years of progress. We are only a few steps away and those final steps require sustained investment… History shows malaria rebounds when control efforts falter.

This is not the moment to retreat; it’s the moment to finish what we started and secure a healthier future for all.”

On behalf of all the communities we work alongside in Laos and worldwide, I thank you for any support you can give to efforts like this.

Warm regards,

Siaffa Bunduka,

Supporter Engagement Manager