Bangkok (Thailand), 25 June 2020 - As part of ongoing support to frontline law enforcement in Southeast Asia, UNODC’s Regional Border Management Programme has delivered personal protection equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 awareness materials to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
Border management capacities have been stretched by the need to address public health risks in addition to the threat of transnational organized crime. Officers stationed at checkpoints have been tasked with limiting the spread of disease between communities and migrants converging at land crossings.
The upheaval caused by the pandemic had a particularly severe impact on land borders throughout the Mekong Region, with cross-border movement of people and goods significantly disrupted. Migrant workers became unemployed after lockdowns went into effect across the region, and the prospect of imminent border closures triggered a mass-migration of people returning to home countries.
During this increase in cross-border activity, frontline officers were unprepared to simultaneously detect signs of illness and illicit trafficking, while also protecting themselves and migrants from the virus. 
As the need for assistance became evident, UNODC refocused the Border Liaison Office Network to quickly deliver vital equipment and information to frontline officers. The provision of PPE helps to keep officers safe in the line of duty and reduce new infections of COVID-19 throughout the region.
In addition to providing officers with PPE, UNODC has developed and disseminated training materials and field guides to help them prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the border. In Lao PDR, UNODC will be conducting a training of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Health with funding from the United Nations Multi-Party Trust Fund as one of the key UN agencies to support the government in the response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This will enable officers to properly implement public health guidelines. This effect of this initiative will be felt throughout the region, as Lao PDR shares a land border with all Mekong countries.
As the pandemic unfolds, ensuring frontline officers have the resources necessary to enforce public health measures will reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and save lives.
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