Project profile — Inclusive Democratic Development in Burma/Myanmar

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) improved democratic governance practices allowing citizens and their civil society organizations to contribute to and influence local and national policies; (2) improved decentralized governance and services in areas where ethnic minorities are the majority; and (3) enhanced participation of marginalized and conflict-impacted communities in local development.

Results achieved as of November 2021 include: (1) Six health partners improved their COVID-19 protocols: the Ethnic Health Systems Strengthening Group (EHSSG) created a new, 66-page manual with COVID-19 protocols for its members for training of the Quality Improvement teams; (2) Between January and June 2021, partners served 104,497 cases in Myanmar (57% f; 20% under five, of which 48% f). Of the cases, partners reported a total of 2,580 cases where COVID-19 tests were administered, of which 427 were positive; (3) 10 of 15 health partners managed community pandemic response facilities; (4) One of six partners running crisis support centres formalized a protocol to respond to SGBV cases by phone during COVID-19; (5) The target of 14 villages having gender-equitably managed, locally initiated development projects was doubled; and (6) Partners gave a total of 165 interviews (32%f) to local or international media to help shape the messaging of the national demonstrations, which has influenced not only a new generation of political activists, but also new post-coup political bodies.