Chin State plans to protect women and children

06 May 2015 — The government of Chin State announced its new plan to provide social services that would benefit children and women in Burma’s western state.

The plan, funded by Danida, Danish International Development Agency, and jointly supported by UNICEF and the Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development, aims at helping children and families develop in their daily lives.

A statement released yesterday said that children in Chin State are more likely to be underweight and stunted than their peers living in other parts of the country.

It said that only 6 percent of children in Burma’s least developed state were delivered in a health facility.

Bertrand Bainvel, UNICEF representative to Burma, said: “The Local Social Plan addresses unmet development needs and rights, prioritised by the people of Chin State and the Chin State Government, such as food security, improved access to and retention in education, and expanded coverage of quality health services.”

The 5-year project, which will start in April next year, will focus on eight sectors including ‘social protection and child protection, infrastructure development and transportation development.

Development partners stressed the difficulty of access to Chin State at a forum held in Rangoon yesterday entitled ‘The Chin State 5-year Development Plan with Child-Focused Local Social Plan’.

Joern Kristensen, MIID director-cum-founder, said: “There are many challenges in Chin State. It’s a state which has the worst social indicators, poverty, malnutrition, and lack of access to education, lack of access to health services. I think this should be the one we prioritize.”

Danish Ambassador to Burma H.E. Peter Lysholt Hansen said that the people of Chin State deserved to see tangible results in their daily lives following the ceasefire agreement.

He added that it was part of Denmark’s strong support for the peace, democracy, human rights and reform process in the Southeast Asian country.#