Vientiane Rescue volunteers help an injured
motorcycle driver following a drink-driving accident in Laos (AFP Photo/Lillian
Suwanrumpha)
Vientiane
(AFP) - "Look at me, stay with us," the paramedics shout as a barely
conscious motorcyclist is bundled into a volunteer ambulance in the Laotian
capital Vientiane, where rampant drink driving brings nightly carnage to the
roads.
It is a
grim scene familiar the world over.
But in
Laos, an impoverished and authoritarian communist country with almost no
state-funded medical services, these kind of vital lifesavers are volunteers
and entirely funded by donations.
And they
have never been more in demand.
By the
time the crew arrive at a nearby hospital, the Japanese donated ambulance -- a
right hand drive vehicle in a left hand drive nation -- has picked up two more
injured on the way. Fresh calls for help are coming in all the time.
Founded
in 2010 by a group of foreigners, "Vientiane Rescue" is a lifeline
for those in need of urgent medical care.
"Before
we launched this service, after an accident the wounded were simply left on the
roadside or taken away in tuk-tuks. That's obviously disastrous for those with
fractures or trauma," explained Sébastien Perret, a French national and
former firefighter who helped found the group.
Poorly
maintained roads, dilapidated vehicles, an increase in motorcycle use and the
widespread prevalence of drink driving makes Vientiane one of Asia's most
precarious capitals for road deaths.
Years of rapid growth
The
government keeps few statistics, but Perret's group says demand for their
services has jumped 30 percent in the last year alone.
"We
undertake around 20 to 30 call outs a day. And in 90 percent of cases it is
road accidents," he said.
There was
a time when Vientiane was famed for its lack of cars.
Backpackers
passing through the city in the 1990s would marvel at the wide, French-built
boulevards devoid of heavy traffic, bicycles and tuk-tuks the main form of
transport.
But years
of rapid growth has seen the same streets filled with vehicles in recent years,
many of them brand new SUVs and luxury cars driven by the country's communist
party elite.
That
wealth -- and the volunteer ambulances scooping victims up from the road -- are
both a stark illustration of how public services in communist Laos are largely
nascent or non-existent despite being one of Asia's fastest growing economies
over the last decade.
In the
1990s the country's rulers abandoned free healthcare altogether, meaning
ordinary citizens must fend for themselves when they get ill.
Minimal health spend
Since
2000, Laos' GDP has increased 12 times, reaching $12.3 billion in 2015.
But the
country currently has one of the world's lowest spends on healthcare.
In recent
years it has averaged just 0.5 percent of GDP according to the World Bank.
In
contrast, similarly impoverished Cambodia spends 1.3 percent while fellow
communist nations Vietnam and Cuba spend 3.8 percent and 10.6 percent of GDP
respectively.
The
Health Ministry in Laos, a country where all foreign journalists must be
accompanied by a government minder, declined an AFP interview but did issue a
brief statement via email.
In it
they admitted there was a shortage of good healthcare.
"The
main problems for hospitals in Laos is the lack of qualified staff, equipment,
coaching and financial resources," the statement said.
But the
ministry did not say whether there were any plans to increase healthcare
spending or to tackle the issues in the coming years.
Volunteer
groups plug some of the gaps, but even they face shortages.
At
Vientiane Rescue bandages are washed and re-used, while several of their
ambulances are crudely converted cars.
The
service operates 24-hours a day, seven days a week and has also recently
expanded into firefighting teams and specialists to counter drownings.
Most of
those volunteering are students who are sent to Thailand for first aid
training.
Mee
Thevanh, 24, began volunteering after she was involved in a motorbike accident
and had to make her own way to hospital.
"After
that I decided to become a volunteer. I spend most of my nights here," she
said in a short break between emergencies.
She
admits that like many compatriots she used to regularly drink and drive. But no
more.
"And
I've calmed down since," she said.
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