Scanpix / Cathal McNaughton
Country Facts
DRC present since
2009
DRC staff
400
People in need (Source: Humanitarian Response Plan 2021)
1,000,000
Displacement Situation
A patchwork of on-going ethnic and internal conflicts have plagued Myanmar since the country’s independence in 1948, leaving many regions in the grip of a protracted and interlinked set of crises considered to be the world’s longest active civil war. Rights violations are regular and systematic, and the chronic state of conflict causes both short and long-term displacement.
Despite the signing of a nationwide ceasefire in 2015, several ethnic armed groups and militias in Kachin, Shan, Rakhine and Chin states are still in active conflict with the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw), and these persistent conflicts regularly trigger civilian displacement.
In 2019, the conflict between the military and the Arakan Army (a Rakhine ethnic insurgent group founded in 2009) caused the displacement of 80,000 people in Rakhine and Chin states and has seen increased levels of intensity into 2020. Inter-ethnic violence force people to flee their homes in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Shan, Karen and Mon states, and in the Bago Region.
Rohingya populations, who suffered a crackdown from the Tatmadaw in 2017 which has been qualified by the UN of genocidal intent, continue to face severe deprivation of their rights and confinement into congested camps. Rakhine and other vulnerable minority and displaced groups are facing growing protections risks and rights violations, as well as restrictions on their freedom of movement and on their access to services and livelihood opportunities.
Monsoon flooding is a seasonally recurring natural hazard that is compounding the vulnerability of people in Myanmar. This triggered most of the 270,000 new displacements recorded in 2019.
DRC Response
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has been operating in Myanmar since 2009, when the first team arrived to provide emergency assistance in the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Nargis.
As of 2020, DRC works in three states in Myanmar - Rakhine, Kachin, and northern Shan – with activities covering five core sectors:
- Protection (including Gender-Based Violence and Child Protection)
- Livelihoods (including income-generation through vocational and business training, Village Saving Loans and Association, micro-enterprise development, and MPCA/cash transfers as part of a Covid-19 response)
- Camp Coordination and Management
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
- Humanitarian Mine Action that includes Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance and Non-Technical Surveys
Funding
DRC is grateful to all donors for generous support and continued commitment to our work in Myanmar:
Danida · DFAT · ECHO · EU DEVCO · GIZ · MHF · SDC · SIDA · UNFPA · UNHCR · UNICEF · USAID-BHA
Contact
Downloads
2020 Rohingya Conference (22 OCT 2020)
Myanmar lockdown: Aid trapped in the middle
Myanmar lockdown: Aid trapped in the middle
While the number of Covid-19 cases are on the rise and medical capacity often fail to respond, humanitarian needs are soaring. Aid is there, but delivery is stuck. A nationwide curfew keeps all at home and prevents DRC and fellow NGOs from reaching desperate people waiting for help.
Snapshots
New displacement during COVID-19
Despite calls for a global ceasefire amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to alleviate suffering and economic and social hardships, conflicts in Myanmar’s Northern Shan and Rakhine States have escalated since March. Thousands of civilians continue to displace and re-displace in search of safe havens, food, water and medication. Many rural communities and small villages are isolated and far from international aid and protection. DRC is working on the ground, including with local partners, to strengthen our response and find new ways to reach people in need and to alleviate the suffering in conflict-affected areas of Myanmar. We continue to see new needs for emergency aid and work to provide means and support to help people recover and cope with crisis. Today, 10 December 2020, on this year's International Human Rights Day, DRC Myanmar salutes all partners, donors and other actors who help us help people in need in Myanmar.
New displacement during COVID-19
Despite calls for a global ceasefire amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to alleviate suffering and economic and social hardships, conflicts in Myanmar’s Northern Shan and Rakhine States have escalated since March. Thousands of civilians continue to displace and re-displace in search of safe havens, food, water and medication. Many rural communities and small villages are isolated and far from international aid and protection. DRC is working on the ground, including with local partners, to strengthen our response and find new ways to reach people in need and to alleviate the suffering in conflict-affected areas of Myanmar. We continue to see new needs for emergency aid and work to provide means and support to help people recover and cope with crisis. Today, 10 December 2020, on this year's International Human Rights Day, DRC Myanmar salutes all partners, donors and other actors who help us help people in need in Myanmar.
ADSP Newsletter Q4 2020
'2020 will be remembered as a year of change and adaptation. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes in the way we interact with our fellow human being, across communities, and across borders. Life as we knew it seems gone!' - writes DRC Asia's Regional Director as he welcomes 2021. Read this and more from ADSP in this year's last newsletter: 1) A year of change and adaptation – seasonal greetings from the Danish Refugee Council’s Regional Director, Mikkel Trolle 2) Dreams and Hopes: Access to Education for Afghan Refugee Children Amidst COVID-19 in Balochistan – by ADSP 3) Will the Afghanistan Conference Deliver for Afghan Refugees? - by ADSP Coordinator, Evan Jones 4) Noise pollution: Consequences of living close to an airport on Afghan & Pakistani children’s hearing loss and education performance - by ADSP 5) Surviving Fear and Uncertainty: Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia - by Mixed Migration Researcher at MMC Asia, Hanh Nguyen Link: https://adsp.ngo/publications/newsletters/adsp-newsletter-q4-2020/
ADSP Newsletter Q4 2020
'2020 will be remembered as a year of change and adaptation. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes in the way we interact with our fellow human being, across communities, and across borders. Life as we knew it seems gone!' - writes DRC Asia's Regional Director as he welcomes 2021. Read this and more from ADSP in this year's last newsletter: 1) A year of change and adaptation – seasonal greetings from the Danish Refugee Council’s Regional Director, Mikkel Trolle 2) Dreams and Hopes: Access to Education for Afghan Refugee Children Amidst COVID-19 in Balochistan – by ADSP 3) Will the Afghanistan Conference Deliver for Afghan Refugees? - by ADSP Coordinator, Evan Jones 4) Noise pollution: Consequences of living close to an airport on Afghan & Pakistani children’s hearing loss and education performance - by ADSP 5) Surviving Fear and Uncertainty: Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia - by Mixed Migration Researcher at MMC Asia, Hanh Nguyen Link: https://adsp.ngo/publications/newsletters/adsp-newsletter-q4-2020/
Project: EU PHASE IN
Technical Vocational and Educational Training (TVET) in Rakhine State
Technical Vocational and Educational Training (TVET) in Rakhine State
November 2020
200.5 kb
Cash for Work (CfW) in Rakhine State
Cash for Work (CfW) in Rakhine State
November 2020
207.6 kb
Village Savings and Loans Association in Rakhine State
Village Savings and Loans Association in Rakhine State
November 2020
205.7 kb
Community-driven Development in Sittwe Township of Rakhine State
Community-driven Development in Sittwe Township of Rakhine State
November 2020
191.6 kb
Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance in Rakhine State
Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance in Rakhine State
November 2020
189 kb
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Rakhine State
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Rakhine State
November 2020
197.4 kb
Business Start-up Support in Rakhine State
Business Start-up Support in Rakhine State
November 2020
192.9 kb