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CHANGE BEGINS WITH CHILDREN
An old proverb in Myanmar says that, Children are our most
precious treasure. UNICEF in Myanmar embraces this ethosin its work, striving to further the rights of the nations children
and youth to survival, development, protection and participation.
Myanmar is a land of enormous potential, with resilient, resourceful
people who want to improve their lives and the lives of their children.
UNICEF works with families, communities and other care providers to
help give children the best possible start in life through programs that
immunize children from disease, enhance their nutrition, protect them
from HIV/AIDS, provide them with a better quality basic education andsafe drinking water, and protect them from abuse, exploitation and
violence. Today UNICEF and its partners are making progress in helping
more of Myanmars children live, grow, develop and attain their dreams.
Despite this progress, many children in Myanmar still
face poverty, disease, malnutrition, the threat of
HIV/AIDS, a lack of access to clean drinking
water and low primary school completion
rates, all of which impede their opportunities
for growth and development.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child,
which Myanmar ratified in 1991, provides that
the best interests of children should be
considered in all actions potentially affecting
their lives. With the best interests of Myanmars
children at the forefront of its endeavors, UNICEFwill continue working with its partners in
Myanmar to improve the lives of the countrys
women, children and youth.
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MYANMAR: A COUNTRY OF CONTRASTS
Myanmar is one of Southeast Asias largest nations, with a
population of more than 52 million people. With 135different ethnic groups calling Myanmar home, it is also one
of the worlds most diverse countries, with a rich history and panoply
of cultural and religious traditions.
Myanmar is a geographically diverse country, boasting fertile tropical
deltas in the south and a rugged landscape in the Himalayan foothills
of the north. The country is situated along the Bay of Bengal, and
shares borders with Bangladesh, China, India, the Lao PDR and
Thailand.
Approximately 70% of Myanmars people live in the countryside, and
most rural families make their living from farming. While the country is
rich in natural resources, the per capita gross national income has been
estimated to be only US$ 220 a year.
Long-standing conflicts have exacerbated the challenges that many
families face. Public sector investments and expenditures in most
program areas in which UNICEF works, such as education and health,
are extremely low. Myanmar also has one of the lowest per capita
overseas development assistance (ODA) rates in Southeast Asia.
Current internal and international investment levels are not sufficient to
provide all of the nations children with an education, healthcare and
other basic social services.
Because of its size and diversity, there are disparities between children
living in different areas of Myanmar in terms of access to basic healthservices, clean water and adequate sanitation facilities, malnutrition
rates, primary school enrollment and completion rates, and protective
services. UNICEF works with many partners to address these disparities
and to try to provide basic services to all of the countrys children.
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UNICEFS COMMITMENT TO MYANMARSCHILDREN
UNICEF has been working in Myanmar continuously since1950. Despite difficult political and economic circumstances,UNICEF helped to successfully initiate programs to protectchildren against smallpox, leprosy and yaws. Over time, UNICEF
expanded its programs to support the development of rural health
services, basic education for children, and community water supply
and sanitation systems. More recently, UNICEF has supported HIV/
AIDS prevention, early childhood development, and child protection
programs. UNICEF also advocated for Myanmars accession to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which the
government ratified in the 1990s.
Today UNICEF supports some programs (such as immunization)
throughout the country, while it supports other programs (such as
malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention) primarily in high-risk areas of
Myanmar. Wherever it can, UNICEF supports an integrated package of health, education, water supply and sanitation interventions as it
now does in 61 of Myanmars most vulnerable townships. UNICEF has
field officers positioned throughout the country to enhance
implementation and ensure that the assistance it provides reaches
those children and women for whom it is intended.
The overriding goal of UNICEFs current program in Myanmar is to
protect and further childrens rights to survival, development, protection
and participation. Recognizing that the wellbeing of children is closelylinked to the health and wellbeing of their mothers, UNICEF also works
to help women in Myanmar realize these fundamental rights.
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CHILDREN IN MYANMAR
Today in Myanmar, some inroads are being made in
advancing childrens rights and improving the provisionof basic social services for children. Nevertheless,
disparities remain pronounced throughout the country, with
children and women in remote areas often being particularly
underserved.
While progress has been made in improving childrens health
through child immunization and nutrition initiatives, Myanmar
continues to have high infant and under-five mortality rates,
with 50% of all child deaths attributable to preventable causes.
One in three children under five years of age are still
malnourished, and youth are particularly vulnerable to HIV/
AIDS.
Although water and sanitation coverage has substantially
increased in recent years, many households still lack access to
safe water and sanitary facilities, and water-born diseases
remain a major killer of children under five years of age
throughout the country. Parasite infections resulting from
impure water are exacerbating child and infant malnutrition,
and poor sanitary conditions are providing breeding grounds for
disease.
Today, primary school enrollment rates are high and more
schools are being constructed. However, less than half of all
children in Myanmar currently complete primary school. Many
school expenses must be borne by students families,presenting an insurmountable financial obstacle for many
impoverished households. Classroom facilities are often poor
and under-equipped, and attrition rates among teachers are
high due to low pay, poor working conditions and long
separations from their families.
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In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the importance of child
protection initiatives. Nevertheless, high primary school dropout rates and widespread
poverty have had the effect of rendering large numbers of Myanmars children and
youth vulnerable to various forms of exploitation. Many children are employed in
factories, teashops and other business enterprises where they work long hours underarduous conditions, for very little pay. Other children take to the streets to beg, some
run afoul of the law, and others are conscripted despite national laws prohibiting this
practice. Many of these children are vulnerable to trafficking, and many trafficked
children and women are forced to work in the commercial sex industry.
Despite these challenges, there is reason for hope. UNICEF in Myanmar is working with
its partners to help children and their families surmount the problems that they face,
and more fully realize their rights to health, education, equality and protection.
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HOW UNICEF MAKES A DIFFERENCE
While numerous impediments still stand in the way of
Myanmars children fully realizing their rights, progress is
being made in certain areas:
lllll UNICEF and its partners have successfully protected children
from many deadly diseases, improved their access to
healthcare and essential drugs, and enhanced their mental
and physical development through UNICEFs Health and
Nutrition program.
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lllll UNICEF and its partners have empowered more
youth, mothers and members of vulnerable groups to
protect themselves against HIV/AIDS, and have
ensured that more people infected with and affected
by HIV/AIDS are given the care and support they
need through its HIV/AIDS program.
lllll UNICEF and its partners have helped more children
attend daycare and preschool, helped improve the
quality of care being provided to these children,
helped more primary school children receive a quality
education, and helped ensure that children are being
taught fundamental life skills in the classroom
through its Education program.
lllll UNICEF and its partners have increased childrens
access to safe drinking water and sanitary facilities,
and have ensured that more children in
disadvantaged areas are being taught safe hygiene
habits through its Water and Environmental
Sanitation and Hygiene program.
lllll UNICEF and its partners have also helped protect
women and children from trafficking, exploitation and
abuse and have helped improve national laws
protecting children through its Child Protection
program.
Today, UNICEF works with its partners in Myanmar to help
women, children and youth survive, develop and thrive by:
lllll Helping them stay healthy and well-nourished;
lllll Protecting them from HIV/AIDS;lllll Providing children with a quality basic primary
education;
lllll Expanding access to clean drinking water and
adequate sanitation facilities; and
lllll Protecting children from exploitation and abuse.
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HELPING CHILDREN STAY HEALTHYAND WELL-NOURISHED
I f children are not healthy and well-nourished, they cannotrealize many of their basic rights. One way UNICEF works tokeep Myanmar children healthy is by immunizing childrenagainst deadly childhood diseases by:
lllll Providing approximately 90% of the vaccines used to
inoculate children in Myanmar against the six major
vaccine-preventable diseases (tuberculosis, diphtheria,
whooping cough, tetanus, polio and measles);lllll Supporting routine immunization campaigns and
expanding immunization coverage in hard-to-reach
areas;
lllll Providing equipment to ensure that vaccines retain their
potency; and
lllll Introducing Hepatitis B vaccines in routine immunization
programs (to prevent liver disease).
UNICEF also keeps women and children healthy by improving the
quality and availability of health services . UNICEF does this
by:
lllll Training rural health center staff in the integrated
management of maternal and childhood illnesses;
lllll Increasing access to essential drugs;
lllll
Ensuring the availability of standard and emergencyobstetric care facilities in township hospitals; and
lllll Reducing the prevalence of malaria through the
provision of bed nets and diagnostic equipment, and by
supporting public awareness and treatment activities.
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UNICEF strives to reduce child and maternal malnutrition by:
lllll Increasing mothers awareness of the benefits of exclusive
breastfeeding for their children during the first six months of life;
lllll Supplying the majority of vitamin A capsules to children
nationwide to prevent blindness and strengthen childrens
immune systems;
lllll Supplying 50% of all potassium iodate nationwide to support
salt iodization, which prevents iodine deficiency disorders and
mental retardation; and
lllll Providing iron supplements to pregnant and lactating womento prevent anemia.
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PROTECTING CHILDREN AND WOMENFROM HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is spreading at an alarming rate in Myanmar. The
disease has now spread to the general population, with more
mothers and children becoming infected with the virus. Only a
small proportion of those infected with HIV/AIDS are aware of this fact,
due in part to a lack of voluntary, confidential testing and counseling
services.
UNICEF works to prevent women, children and youth from contracting
HIV/AIDS and supports persons infected with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS by:
lllll Working with partners to strengthen the national policy
response to the epidemic;
lllll Increasing adolescents access to information about HIV/AIDS
and other sexually transmitted diseases;
lllll Providing children and youth both in and out of school with
life skills training to help them develop the knowledge andabilities they need to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS;
lllll Preventing the mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS by
encouraging voluntary testing and counseling for pregnant
women;
lllll Improving the capacity of health staff to treat people infected
with HIV/AIDS;
lllll Providing home-based care and support services for peopleinfected with or affected by HIV/AIDS; and
lllll Targeting particularly vulnerable groups such as migrant
families, ethnic groups and the poor with a full range of
prevention and support services.
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PROVIDING CHILDREN WITH A QUALITYBASIC EDUCATION
Education is a key factor in providing Myanmars childrenwith opportunities for growth, development and advance-
ment. Since the learning and development process begins
the day a child is born, UNICEF works to help families and
caregivers meet the psychosocial, intellectual and physical needs
of infants and children up to five years of age. To these ends,
UNICEF strives to foster early childhood development by:
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lllll Providing a range of support to preschools and
daycare centers;lllll Training parents, caregivers and teachers in early
childhood development and child-centered play method-ologies; and
lllll Providing learning materials, toys and other basic
support to community-based play and child development
programs.
Another way UNICEF helps provide children with a quality
basic education is through its support of child- friendly
schools . UNICEF encourages more children to attend school
and works to improve the quality of education in primary
schools in some of the nations most disadvantaged town-
ships by:
lllll Training teachers in participatory, child-centered teach-
ing and learning methods;lllll Providing basic school supplies for children to defray
educational costs;lllll Equipping schools with safe drinking water facilities and
latrines;lllll Training Parent-Teacher Association members on how to
become more involved in their childrens education; andlllll Providing roofing sheets for schools in traditionally
disadvantaged communities.
UNICEF also helps children and youth acquire essential
life skills such as critical thinking, decision making and
problem solving by:
lllll Supporting life skills courses in teacher training colleges
throughout the country;lllll Training teachers in participatory, student-centered
teaching and learning methods; andlllll Fostering the active participation of students, teachers,
parents and community members in life skills activities.
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ENSURING ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER ANDSANITATION FACILITIES
C hildren who are deprived of clean drinking water and a sanitaryenvironment face very real threats to their health and survival.To better ensure childrens right to survive and thrive, UNICEF inMyanmar works to ensure access to clean and safe water by:
lllll Installing safe drinking water supply systems in schools, health
centers and communities; and
lllll Ensuring better water quality by testing for arsenic and other
contaminants in groundwater and introducing mitigationactivities as needed.
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UNICEF ensures access to adequate sanitation facilities
by:
lllll Providing support for the construction of
sanitary latrines in schools and communities;
and
lllll Encouraging national and community support of
latrine construction through its support of
National Sanitation Weeks.
In addition to these activities, UNICEF also promotes
hygiene education by:
lllll Supporting the teaching of personal hygiene in
schools through the provision of activity-based
teaching manuals, learning/game materials and
demonstration models; and
lllll Supporting National Sanitation Weeks, which
involve the promotion of hand washing and other
basic hygienic measures in the national media
and in communities.
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PROTECTING CHILDREN AND WOMENFROM EXPLOITATION
Today in Myanmar there is an evolving recognition thatadditional measures are needed to better ensure thatorphaned, institutionalized and homeless children are properlycared for and protected from harm, to better protect children and
women from trafficking and various forms of exploitation, and to
better address the needs of displaced children and their families.
UNICEF works to protect children and women from exploitation,
abuse and neglect by:
lllll Raising awareness among community members and
community-based organizations about means of preventing
abuse, exploitation, trafficking and neglect;
lllll Providing education, vocational training and recreation
activities for vulnerable children and youth, including street
children and working children;
lllll Providing technical assistance to further improve the juvenile justice system and protect children in conflict with
the law pursuant to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and other international standards;
lllll Strengthening communities and institutional caregivers
capacity to assist children deprived of parental care; and
lllll Working with partners and communities to facilitate the
return, protection and reintegration of displaced, traffickedand exploited children and women.
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OUR PARTNERS
UNICEF works with a full range of partners in Myanmar, and
it is UNICEFs partners that play the vital role of actually
implementing its program activities in communities
throughout the country. Working together, UNICEF and its
partners strive to help Myanmars children realize their
fundamental rights. UNICEFs partners include:
lllll National technical departments, including health
professionals, nutritionists, educators, water and
sanitation experts and social workers;
lllll Local non-governmental organizations, including faith-
based organizations;
lllll International non-governmental organizations;
lllll Community groups, including Parent-Teacher
Associations; and
lllll Other members of the UN family in Myanmar.
Since UNICEF is funded exclusively by voluntary contributions,
donors are also a crucial component of its work in Myanmar.
UNICEF activities are funded by governments, the private sector
and individuals around the globe who support its work through
National Committees for UNICEF. Major donors include the
governments of Japan, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands,
Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden, as well as the European
Commission and UNICEF National Committees in Japan, the
United States and Australia.
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THE WAY FORWARD
UNICEF in Myanmar is committed to the advancement
of childrens fundamental rights. With an eye to the
future, UNICEF will continue to extend basic lifesaving
assistance to more underserved areas, expand ongoing
program activities in disadvantaged communities, support and
empower communities and strongly advocate for the rights of
all of Myanmars women and children.
UNICEFs future objectives include helping to ensure that
every child in Myanmar is immunized against deadly diseases,that maternal and neonatal tetanus are eliminated, that child
malaria rates are reduced, that the majority of pregnant
women receive information on the prevention of HIV/AIDS,
that more child-friendly preschools and daycare centers are
established, that more children have access to clean water
and sanitary facilities, and that more families and communities
are empowered to protect children from abuse, exploitation
and trafficking.
The road ahead is challenging, but not insurmountable.
Myanmars people possess an indomitable spirit, and a
determined resolve to create a world where future
generations of children can grow up healthy, well-educated
and protected from harm.
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UNICEF in Myanmar
Communication Section6th Floor, Yangon International Hotel330, Ahlone Road, Dagon TownshipYangon, Myanmar
Phone: 95-1-212086/87/90/91Fax: 95-1-212063E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.unicef.org/myanmar
PhotosUNICEF Myanmar/Noorani
September 2004