The activities proposed hereafter are still subject to the adoption of the financing Decision ECHO/WWD/BUD/2012/01000
1 . CONTEXT
Burma/Myanmar:
Country Status in GNA (Vulnerability Index and Crisis Index) – Vulnerability Index: 2 and Crisis Index: 3. Ranking in HDI (Human Development Index): 135. Myanmar has a population of 58 million people with ethnic minorities making up 40%. There are 135 different ethnic groups divided into 8 major ethnic national races. Myanmar is one of the countries receiving least aid per capita in the world. According to OECD, the country received USD 6.5 / person in 2009.
It is difficult to evaluate the overall humanitarian situation due to lack of reliable official data and access. Assessments are tightly controlled. Nevertheless, humanitarian organisations are able to collect some information and conduct assessments on their own (i.e. World Food Programme (WFP) food security assessments for cyclone Giri area and Northern Rakhine State (NRS), February 2011, The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) NRS household survey December 2010).
European Commission's Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG ECHO's) current country strategy will address the needs of the most vulnerable populations in a protracted forgotten crisis context, is focusing on: a) Rakhine state, b) these area along the eastern border with China, Laos and Thailand, and c) Chin state on the western border.
Rakhine State - In NRS, the Muslim “Rohingya” population (approx 700,000 persons) is victim of segregation and discrimination. Deprivation of citizenship has served to justify arbitrary treatment and coercive measures. The situation is politically rooted and has turned into an acute humanitarian situation. 45% of households are classified as severely food insecure.
Due to limited recovery response and adverse weather conditions (floods) that impacted negatively on the agricultural production, the livelihood recovery of the communities in Rakhine state affected by cyclone Giri in October 2010 did not take place as expected. The food security situation is still poor and the mediocre agricultural prospects will not bring improvement in the near future.
Eastern border areas - The ethnic armed insurgency reached a level of open conflict in 2011. This further exacerbated the Internally Displaced People (IDP) situation with new population movements. In 2011, 25,000 people in Kachin state and 30,000 in Shan state have reportedly been displaced by fighting. The civilian population is victim of exploitation and human rights violations from both sides. Over the years, the internal conflict has resulted in more than 500,000 IDPs.
Chin state – Chin is one of the poorest and least developed states in Burma/Myanmar, suffering from serious food insecurity. Rodent infestations are a compounding factor. Isolation and lack of support by the central government has left the region with deficiencies in most sectors. According to WFP, the food consumption of 81% of the households is inadequate.
Thailand:
The conflict and poor economic situation in Burma/Myanmar have resulted in a large influx of its citizens into Thailand. An estimated 3 million Burmese live in Thailand as economic migrants while 140,000 ethnic Karen reside in 9 refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. Apart from responding to the basic needs of the refugees, support for the Royal Thai government's (RTG) efforts to implement a proper screening process, and to initiate long-term durable solutions for the refugees should be encouraged.