The results of the surveys and costing were used to develop a new, national policy for the recruitment and retention of health workers. This policy – which was announced by the Laotian government in October 2012 – stipulates that all graduates in medicine, nursing, midwifery, pharmacy and dentistry and all postgraduates in family medicine must complete three years of service as a health worker in a rural area before they can receive their licences to practise in their field of study.12 The policy also stipulates the provision of incentives to encourage new health workers both to provide high-quality services while they work in rural areas and to continue working in a rural area after they have completed their three years of compulsory service. The provided incentives include permanent civil service positions, transportation and eligibility for continued education. The first phase of the implementation of the policy began in early 2013 and focused on 400 newly qualified doctors, pharmacists and dentists who were assigned to health centres and district hospitals serving 142 rural districts.