Despite maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates falling over the last decade, significant reductions will still be required for Lao PDR to achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Adolescent fertility rates are among the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, and the coverage of essential health services is limited (particularly in rural and remote areas), despite the strong commitment of the country to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and realise the human right to health.

The main objective of this analysis is to highlight the health and economic benefits of investing in Family Planning and Nutrition, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health services, to make the case for increased domestic financing and to provide evidence-based priority setting to invest scarce resources where they will have the most impact.

The evidence presented in this study makes a case for targeting synergetic interventions and favouring scaling up with a focus on efficiency and cost savings rather than a more comprehensive, less focused approach. These estimates demonstrate that reaching full coverage targets for Family Planning and Nutrition, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health in Lao PDR by 2030 is affordable and makes economic sense.