Myanmar COVID-19 Monitorıng : Community Assessment, Round 1
This report represents the main findings from the first round of village-level community assessment of the economic and social impacts monitoring of COVID-19 in Myanmar. A total of 224 individuals (four per village, selected for their knowledge of...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/327491604549861927/Myanmar-COVID-19-Monitorıng-Community-Assessment-Round-1 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34763 |
| Summary: | This report represents the main findings
from the first round of village-level community assessment
of the economic and social impacts monitoring of COVID-19 in
Myanmar. A total of 224 individuals (four per village,
selected for their knowledge of the situation of the
village, and representativity of key sub-groups), were
interviewed across 56 villages, in two townships in every
state and region across the country. All interviews were
conducted by phone in July 2020 and lasted approximately one
hour each. The below findings are a snapshot of the
situation as of July 2020, prior to the surge in case
numbers in late August, at a time when many travel
restrictions were lifted, and the official number of
COVID-19 cases was around 350. Myanmar reported the
country’s first cases of COVID-19 in late March 2020,
followed shortly thereafter by confirmation of community
transmission. In the following months, though testing was
initially extremely limited, the Ministry of Health and
Sports responded with robust contact tracing and implemented
strict quarantine protocols for travelers entering Myanmar
from abroad (primarily Myanmar citizens returning home), and
for domestic and international cross-border migrants
returning to their villages. Restrictions on domestic and
international travel, as well as curfews and closures of
businesses and schools, were implemented across the country
before they were relaxed in June and July 2020. In April
2020, the Union government issued the COVID-19 Emergency
Response Plan, which included steps taken by the government
to control transmission and mitigate the economic and social
impacts of both the virus and measures implemented to
control its spread. Assistance from the Union government
included provision of foodstuffs to poorer households, a
moratorium on debt collection, a one-time cash payment to
households in need, and a top-up in existing cash transfer
programs targeting pregnant women, nursing mothers, and the
elderly. Respondents indicated that fear of contamination
was by far the main concern of villagers. However, evidence
suggests that adherence to social distancing measures and
government regulations waned over time. Compliance with
government instructions was higher during the early stages
of the pandemic response following the discovery of the
virus in Myanmar. The community-level assessment
investigates the impacts of COVID-19 in six focus areas: (i)
health and behavior; (ii) livelihoods and migration; (iii)
coping mechanisms; (iv) social relations; (v) leadership;
and (vi) aid. In addition, the research was designed around
several factors (markers), that may contribute to either
deepening or mitigating the impacts of the pandemic. |
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