Information by Country
A general economic downturn in the ASEAN region combined with natural disasters and poor economic policies have resulted in an economic downturn in Myanmar. There are disparities between children in different areas of the country as well. The overall situation of children in major towns tends to be considerably better than in rural and urban resettlement areas.
In the most remote border areas, some ethnic communities have virtually no public services because of armed conflicts and problems of accessibility. According to World Bank estimates, approximately one in four households in Myanmar live below the poverty line.
However, despite a long period of relative isolation and other political constraints, Myanmar possesses good technical capacity and can successfully undertake major initiatives when there are clear objectives and high-level commitment and support, combined with national mobilization and adequate resources. Examples of these are the National Sanitation Weeks, National Immunization Days (NIDs) and efforts to achieve Universal Salt Iodization and vitamin A supplementation, which have significantly advanced the achievement of the World Summit and National Plans of Action goals.
Capacity-building of counterparts is required to improve routine services. Cross-border collaboration, such as the joint planning and implementation of NIDs and surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (polio) with China, and HIV/AIDS prevention with other Mekong basin countries, has been fruitful. The approach has been adapted and extended for malaria and issues related to child protection in all border areas, particularly in the Mekong sub region.