Page 37 - Proceedings of The Fifth Meeting of Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin

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Country Report of Lao PDR

Dr. Khamchanh Phonlavong
Deputy Director
Institute of Traditional Medicine
Ministry of Health, Vientiane Lao People’s Democratic Republic

I. Background
The Lao peopleۥs Democratic (Lao PDR) is located in the middle of the
Indochinese Peninsula, sharing a 50 km border with the PR of China to the North,
435 km of border with the kingdom of Cambodia to the south, 2,069 km of eastern
border with the SR of Vietnam, 1,835 km western border with the Kingdom of
Thailand and a 236 km border with Myanmar to the north west.
Traditional medicine is a part of Lao culture since time immemorial. Lao
people have their own traditional healing system which was handed down from
generation by various approaches.
Since the edification of the Lao people’s Democratic Republic the integration
of Traditional Medicine and western Medicine in the treatment of diseases is a
continuing policy of the Lao PDR government. The government has recognized the
value of Traditional Medicine and has widely encouraged its application, both in
public and private sectors. Since the Government budget is limited and
communications in the country are very difficult, the utilization of traditional as well as
herbal medicine become a necessary element of solving the problem of drug supply
as well as less access to health care service of the people living in remote mountain
area. Theoretically, within Lao country, there are roughly ten thousand traditional
practitioners of many ethnic. They have different level of knowledge on traditional
medicine. Those healers did not train in any school; they learnt and practiced from
their forefathers by narrating from mouth to mouth.
In order to upgrade healers’ knowledge and service, this ITM has set up an
incentive policy in spreading the traditional network throughout out the country. Many
traditional medicine stations at provincial level were also established.

II. Medicinal plants of Laos
Laos is rich in natural resources that include plants and other forest
resources. The total area of the country is 23, 680,000 ha, which 47% (roughly one
million hectares) is covered by forest. The abundance of forest also provides an
environment favorable to animal survival and reproduction, and thus to a high
biodiversity. The Lao forest resources have provided an appropriate materia medica
whose effectiveness in the prevention and treatment of diseases was discovered by
our ancestors.
In general, the healers collected plant material for the preparation of their
remedies from available wild plants. That is why sometimes they faced difficulties in
accomplishing their remedies, because ecological patterns in many regions have
changed due to slash and burn cultivation by ethnic farmers living in mountainous
area.