Pandemic Preparedness: Laos and Thailand ran a joint cross-border public health emergency drill in Champasak (Aug 4–5), testing outbreak response, disease surveillance, and coordination across southern provinces and Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani, with tabletop case studies covering threats like avian influenza, anthrax, Ebola, and more. Pandemic Readiness Funding: Laos also launched the ALERT-LAO project (Advancing Lao PDR’s Pandemic Response and Transformation) with FAO and UNICEF, backed by a US$17.59m Pandemic Fund grant plus major co-investment, aiming to strengthen early warning, lab capacity, integrated disease surveillance, and One Health workforce development across all 18 provinces. Maternal & Child Health: Laos marked National Nutrition Day and World Breastfeeding Week, urging better maternal nutrition and breastfeeding to support infant immunity and healthy growth, and calling for supportive environments for mothers. Community Water & Health: HEINEKEN Lao Brewery, with Vientiane Capital’s water utility, inaugurated a community water infrastructure project (4.2 km of pipelines; over LAK 4.5b), designed to improve access to clean water for thousands—especially during the dry season. Urban Health & Cleanliness: Vientiane Capital issued a new waste management and disposal regulatory framework, pushing waste segregation, safer collection and transport, recycling/resource recovery, and public participation to protect hygiene and public health.