Laos is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia and
remaining so despite the recent economic boom in the region.
The country’s per capita income in 2007 was estimated to be
$710 (est. by the U.S. State Department). This is about $2 a
day. The scale of poverty and the degree of medical need were
confirmed by our five-person fact-finding team sent to Laos in
November of 2007.
Our goals for the Laos mission are to:
| 1. |
provide much-needed medical and dental care to
the villages around Vientiane and the villages and
orphanage in Luang Prabang |
| 2. |
teach medical
students at Laos’s only medical school located in Vientiane |
| 3. |
exchange surgical techniques and knowledge among Lao
surgeons and our surgical specialists |
| 4. |
provide Laos with an
operative pulmonology program |
The Laos mission was from November 1 to November 15, 2008 and included 31
members. This was truly an international mission with dental team members
joining the mission from Vietnam as well as Laos health professionals from
the Laos' Ministry of Health.
