One million vulnerable people across Myanmar have benefited from direct UNDP support since February 2021 as part of UN’s overall response to the deepening crisis in the country.
Conflict, COVID and the current political crisis have devastated the lives of many millions of people in Myanmar.
“The political, security, human rights and humanitarian situation in Myanmar is sliding ever deeper into catastrophe,” warned Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General.
Against this backdrop, UNDP – with the financial support of partners – has focused on providing very direct support to meeting critical basic needs, income generation and livelihoods for the vulnerable.
Despite the complex and often daunting conditions, UNDP has been able to work alongside community-based organizations and impact the lives of many, through livelihood training, micro and small business aid, and community resilience building.
But there is more to be done. Household savings have been exhausted while costs of living have dramatically increased. UNDP recognizes that many more vulnerable people and communities need support.
“The number of people living in poverty doubled to nearly half of the population – up to 25 million people – after the military takeover,” said UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja.
“Reaching one million people is a reminder that the needs of the people in Myanmar have grown astronomically since February 2021.”
UNDP’s starting point is going directly to the most vulnerable communities and to work with them to identify their most critical needs. UNDP then addresses the basic needs of the communities by directly delivering independent and impartial assistance to the affected people.
UNDP’s activities build on long history of partnerships with local civil society and community-based organizations which dates back to grassroots initiatives implemented in 1990’s.
The current UNDP projects have directly provided essential items for farming, fishing and improved access to markets to communities in 52 townships in rural Myanmar, some of the poorest areas in Yangon, and in Rakhine with UNHCR.
In addition, UNDP supported the recovery of micro and small enterprises headed by women, reconstructed local village infrastructure including for water and energy, and provided skills training for young people to secure jobs.
“Our core approach is to help move where possible from handouts to a hand up, reducing the humanitarian caseload,” said Kanni Wignaraja.
At the same time, UNDP has adopted an approach of accompaniment to strengthen the capacity of local civil society organizations who also are trying to help the most vulnerable.
Beginning in March 2021, UNDP undertook a series of consultations with nearly 200 civil society organizations (CSOs) across Myanmar. Key challenges identified were funding, registration, organizational capacity, data security, and provision of legal services in a constrained political context.
In response, UNDP has been working with civil society by providing critical training and financial support. Benefitting partner CSOs are now offering greater community-based legal aid, for example to address land related issues.
In the current extremely difficult human rights situation in Myanmar, while this support is unlikely to change the overall context, it does provide some relief for vulnerable individuals trying to secure some of the most basic economic rights.
“Capacity development from UNDP has really helped,” said one CSO partner. “We can now better protect and promote land rights and help with administrative cases for the poor.”
UNDP now aims to scale up its work to reach seven million people by the end of 2024, by continuing to meet basic needs and help restore or rebuild the means to pursue livelihoods. The direct support to communities in need will require US$ 120 million over 2023 and 2024.
“We call on the international community to stay focused on the crisis in Myanmar and to continue to support programmes addressing basic human needs,” concluded Kanni Wignaraja.
Additional resources:
- UNDP report: Impact of the Twin Crises on Human Welfare in Myanmar
- UNDP report: COVID-19, Coup d’état and Poverty: Compounding Negative Shocks and their Impact on Human Development in Myanmar