Around 42% of those in rural communities in Lao PDR practice open-defecation (OD), compared to only 4% in urban areas. However, there has been significant improvement in rural communities – 73% of rural households practiced OD as recently as 2000 (WHO-UNICEF 2014).

This supply chain study is a diagnostic of the rural sanitation supply and value chain in distinct physical and market environments. It focuses on the commonly found or most preferred products and services for improved sanitation in rural Lao PDR.