Activities
Movement, Emergency and Post-crisis Migration Management
Movement Assistance
IOM provides logistical and operational support to the family reunification of Myanmar nationals whose family members are residing overseas. The support includes communicating with the travelers on the flight and logistic information related to overseas travel; providing information on how to fly on an airplane, what to pack, and what procedures to follow at departure, transit and arrival in the final destination; and assistance for departure at the airport.
Emergency and Preparedness
IOM’s programming in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Disaster Management is aimed at reducing risk, while improving preparedness in disaster management and resilience associated with natural disasters. There is a particular focus on communities in conflict and border areas where there are high concentrations of internal migrants and cross-border migrants. Additionally there is a focus on the seasonally disaster prone coastal area of Rakhine and the mountainous region of Chin and Sagaing, which is prone to flooding and landslides.
Myanmar is exposed to multiple natural hazards including cyclones, storm surges, floods, fires, forest fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts and landslides. Its western and southern coastlines are exposed to cyclones, storm surges and tsunamis while major parts of the country are at risk of earthquakes and fires. Alongside the risk of natural disasters, the border areas experience intense population movements, due to long-standing conflicts and internal population displacements. There are multiple connecting points between Myanmar’s varied displacement/movement profiles and with the areas susceptibility to natural disaster it makes for a unique combination of vulnerability.
IOM is presently implementing the Program for Improved Disaster Management and Resilience Against Natural Disaster in Rakhine State, Chin State and Sagaing Region, Burma/Myanmar (IDM-RAND), a programme funded by USAID’s Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). The programme aims to improve the readiness of the government, to increase the resilience of the communities, to prevent potential migration outflows from disaster affected areas, and to promote safe and orderly migration to safe relocation areas.
Priority activities include:
- Improving the quality of risk mitigation/preparedness and emergency response at both State and Township levels
- Providing planning tools and information for evacuation and resettlement planning
- Encouraging community-based, organization-led DRR
- Improving disaster management skills among full range of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) actors at State and Township levels
The programme is concerned with the inclusion of internal migrants due to the fact that natural disasters are one of the major causes of outwards migration. IOM provides humanitarian assistance in cases of natural disasters, covering the initial emergency response all the way to early recovery. One such case was support provided after Cyclone Komen in 2015 and the resulting floods and landslides. IOM assisted in disaster recovery for communities in Rakhine State, Chin State and Sagaing Region that were most affected by the extensive flash floods and landslides caused by Cyclone Komen.
IOM’s activities include:
- Providing psychosocial support to displaced and affected populations
- Carrying out basic infrastructure improvements in displacement sites including by promoting safe construction practices and local employment through ‘cash for work’ programmes.
- Ensuring livelihood recovery through provision of livelihood assets, seeds for farming and building capacity and skills building
- Carrying out repairs of community water infrastructure and the rebuilding of the damaged homes of the affected
- Developing a Shelter Improvement Training Package together with the provision of Safe Construction Kits and Winterization /Non-Food Item (NFI) kits.
Humanitarian Response and Clusters
IOM is the global co-lead for the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster along with UNHCR in Myanmar. IOM, in coordination with UNHCR and the Shelter/NFI/CCCM Clusters is providing targeted capacity building to organizations working in camp management of the Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps in Rakhine and Kachin States.
IOM is implementing the CCCM Support and Capacity-Building in Rakhine and Kachin States Project with the support of USAID’s Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). The intervention is aimed at building the capacity of national and international NGOs to deliver camp management services, to ensure the effective delivery and equitable access to services and protection for those living in IDP camps in Rakhine and Kachin states.
IOM has conducted needs assessments and is providing organizations and government counterparts with capacity-building, training and support on CCCM. This activity is in support of Myanmar’s efforts at national contingency planning for the risk of natural disasters.
Community Stabilization Project
The Community Stabilization project aims to help reduce the flow of irregular migrants from Rakhine State by improving living conditions of both Muslim and Rakhine communities. The project builds upon IOM’s existing disaster risk reduction (DRR) coverage of five townships of Rakhine State, as well as humanitarian support within the area.
In pursuit of this objective, IOM Myanmar helps ensure resilience against natural disasters by improving facilities, livelihoods and economic conditions in target communities of Rakhine State in addition to the development of short and midterm community development plans. These plans include identifying community priorities and implementing community-development focused approaches for the construction or rehabilitation of infrastructure, provision of quick impact livelihood options which utilize ‘cash for work’ approaches, and improving access to markets and farm practices.
By adopting a community stabilisation and resilience-based approach, IOM proposes to establish clusters of target villages rather than targeting disparate townships. This aims to capture opportunities for collaboration and interaction between communities by encouraging economic and social linkages. IOM will promote cohesive communities and work through existing government structures, such as the village tract development committees. Community resilience will also be increased through upgrades to essential services, infrastructure, livelihood and economic conditions in target communities of Rakhine State.
Main Projects
- Family reunification to the United States
- CCCM Support and Capacity-Building in Rakhine and Kachin States, Myanmar
- Post-flood support, funded by EU Humanitarian Aid, with implementation of WASH component (€400,000) by Action Contre La Faim - ACF International
- DRR – Disaster Risk Reduction
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Migration Health
Migration Health
For the past 10 years, IOM has been working with Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS), State and Township Health Authorities and Communities and partner to develop and deliver extensive and comprehensive health programming with focus on HIV, TB and Malaria; Maternal and Child Health, Sexual Reproductive Health Gender Based Violence; and Health System Strengthening for migrants, mobility impacted communities and host communities across Myanmar.
Health Assessments
IOM implements the UKTB Programme in Myanmar on behalf of the UK Government which provides Tuberculosis screening for applicants for UK visas. All Myanmar resident applicants for UK visas of 6 months duration or longer must undergo a screening and examination to detect or rule out active tuberculosis (TB). IOM is the only authorized organization to provide this service in Myanmar and operates an independent Health Assessment Clinic located within the Pun Hlaing Hospital in Yangon. Due to the screening tests involved, applicants should undertake their screening at least 10 weeks before planned departure for the UK.
For information and appointments for UKTB Screening – call +95 9254036310
Migration Health Policy, Research and Technical Support
IOM works closely with the Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS) in Myanmar to strengthen migration health management through research, policy and technical advice and to assist Myanmar in efforts to implement the World Health Assembly Resolution 61.17 on the Health of Migrants. IOM supports MOHS to view health policies and systems with a migration lens and to bring together multi-sectoral stakeholders to coordinate and mainstream migration health initiatives.
HIV, TB and Malaria
In the South East of Myanmar, IOM provides antiretroviral therapy (ART) for over 1,800 patients in Mon and Kayin States, diagnoses approximately 650 new TB cases per quarter, oversees 100 active Outreach Health Workers providing community based HIV and TB services. IOM also oversees 200 volunteers for Malaria community case management (CCM), providing malaria tests to 60,000 malaria suspect patients and treating those who are positive with malaria in Mon and Kayin States. IOM distributed more than 70,000 long lasting insecticide treated nets in the two States. These programs are currently supported by Global Fund with a total budget of approximately USD 15 million over five years.
With the funding from Asian Development Bank (ADB), IOM also implements malaria projects to increase access to malaria prevention, testing, and treatment for Mobile and Migrant Populations (MMPs) in Myanmar, Lao PDR and Cambodia, targeting for employees at work site setting.
IOM has undertaken operational research on the links between Mobility and HIV linked to the ASEAN Economic Corridors in order to provide health providers with up to date information about HIV hotspots and for better targeted intervention strategies with ADB funding. IOM has also conducted operational research on “Evaluation of the surveillance system of day 3 P.falciparum positive cases in migrant and host communities of Mon and Kayin States” to evaluate the surveillance system for day 3 P. falciparum positive cases in migrant and host communities in Mon and Kayin States. In addition, IOM also conducted an operational research on “Factors associated with tuberculosis treatment default amongst migrants and mobile population in Myanmar”, currently in process to identify prevailing factors associated with tuberculosis treatment default and analyse the barriers for tuberculosis treatment adherence as well as the health and social needs of migrants to ensure tuberculosis treatment are completed.
Maternal and Child Health
IOM is a key implementing partner of the 3MDG Fund, and supporting township health departments by collaborative approach to increase access to maternal, newborn and child health services among poor and hard-to-reach populations. IOM implements MNCH activities in 2 townships in Ayeyarwaddy Region, 7 townships in Kayah State and 2 townships in Rakhine State. Through these programs, IOM supports approximately 7,500 emergency obstetric and child referrals per year, has supported the training for over 1,500 voluntary health workers, and these activities have led to year-on-year reductions in maternal and child mortality. IOM also conducted operational research on accessibility and utilization of maternal and child health care services among migrant population in the delta region. This evidence based approach has provided inputs for policy makers at different levels in order to enhance their awareness on promoting equity and better understanding of demand side interventions, and providing possible mechanisms to promote the health care utilization among migrant mothers and children.
Health System Strengthening
In Rakhine State, IOM works with township and state health departments to address barriers in the accessibility, availability and quality of health services for all communities. By addressing both the barriers of accessing health care including identification of cases needing referral, cost of transport and treatment, and knowledge of community and health workers; as well as addressing barriers in providing health care such as technical capacity, equipment and supplies, and ability access health facilities, IOM assists MOHS to improve standards for all populations within project townships in Rakhine State.
Sexual Reproductive Health and Gender Based Violence
IOM in partnership with UNFPA works closely with the State and Township Health Departments to increase the access of women and girls to comprehensive, rights-based sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. The approach follows the integrated approach on health system strengthening for the whole township and will leverage existing relationships and programs two townships of Rakhine State. The project focus on; strengthening government capacity in the provision of quality SRH and GBV service provision; increasing knowledge of GBV basic concepts understanding and referral pathway amongst service providers, Community Based Organisations (CBOs), INGOs, NGOs and duty bearers; bridging service delivery gaps in hard to reach areas of the townships; and increasing community and youth awareness and engagement in SRH and GBV issues and services.
Main Projects
- Targeted HIV prevention and Community based HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care and support in mobility impacted communities
- Community based TB awareness, detection, diagnosis and treatment in mobility impacted communities
- Community based Malaria awareness, detection, diagnosis and treatment in mobility impacted communities
- Increasing access to malaria prevention, testing, and treatment for Mobile and Migrant Populations (MMPs)
- Essential Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) Services for Hard-to-Reach Populations in Ayeyarwady Region
- Essential Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) Services for Hard-to-Reach Populations in Kayah State and Rakhine State
- Supplementary Feeding for Vulnerable HIV and TB Patients In IOM’s Integrated Migration Health Programme with WFP support in Eastern Myanmar
- United Kingdom Tuberculosis Detection Programme (UKTB)
- Township Approach to Improve Access for Women and Girls to Integrated GBV and SRH Services in Rakhine State
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Regulating Migration
Migrant Protection
Irregular migration from Myanmar takes various forms, including economic migrants, internally displaced persons, smuggled migrants, trafficked persons, unaccompanied and separated children, stranded migrants, victims of exploitation and abuse, as well as refugees, asylum seekers among others. The root causes of irregular maritime migration in Myanmar are complex and multi-dimensional, including issues of poverty, underdevelopment, communal violence, internal displacement and statelessness. Lack of livelihood opportunities at home and labour migration through regular channel are the primary drivers for irregular migration - creating an environment in which smuggling and trafficking may flourish. IOM continues to strengthen the capacity of the Government by providing technical expertise in the development and implementation of the Central Body for Suppression of Trafficking in Persons (CBTIP)’s National Plan of Action to combat trafficking in persons. IOM further supports the development and implementation of the bilateral SOPs between Thailand and Myanmar through technical support in finalizing the SOPs on case management and the return and reintegration of trafficking victims and development of a SOP implementation strategy. The capacity of Myanmar and Thai government caseworkers to identify Special Needs Cases through case workers visits to Thai shelters in order to conduct thorough needs assessments continues to be strengthened, ensuring that the protection and reintegration needs of the most vulnerable migrants are adequately addressed. IOM also continues to support government with the development of a National SOPs on protection and reintegration of VOTs as well as supporting regional dialogues aimed at facilitating the development of an effective cross border referral mechanism to effectively protect vulnerable migrants.
Combatting Trafficking in Persons
Prevention
With funding support from The US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (JTIP), IOM continues to contribute to the prevention of trafficking in persons and the protection of victims in Myanmar by addressing priority weaknesses identified in the US TIP Report and to collaborate with anti-trafficking actors in Myanmar to respond to key recommendations of the TIP report. To achieve this, IOM implements a sustained capacity building program aimed at creating a broad network of NGOs and government ‘anti-trafficking focal points’ in conflict-affected States and Regions.
With funding support from the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), IOM implements large-scale information campaigns and outreach activities at various hot spot areas across the country, addressing the risk of irregular migration, trafficking in persons, and promoting safe migration. For instance in 2016, IOM carried out campaigns that reached a total of 71 locations throughout Myanmar, encompassing key eight hotspot cities recognized as origin and transit points for trafficking in persons. The campaigns were also carried out in targeted sites including markets, bus terminals, passport offices, schools, remote villages, and IDP camps. The process to develop information, education and communication (IEC) materials during the campaigns necessitated significant coordination with CSOs and local authorities, for which IOM organized a range of bilateral consultations with individual CSOs including a media workshop. The joint workshop constituted a unique approach and provided a platform for members CSOs, religious leaders, and government officials to openly discuss and exchange their experience and expertise, to enable IEC materials, key messages, and methods for outreach to be adopted by participants in a consultative manner. The information campaign – encompassing dramatic performances, songs, public Q & A sessions, and the distribution of brochures and posters – achieved significant outreach and mobilization of the general public. Throughout the consultative process IOM played a crucial role to mobilize various stakeholders and constructed a bridge between government, CSOs and UN/INGOs, thereby contributing to the peace building process.
Protection
IOM work in providing direct assistance to vulnerable migrants include medical, legal, psychological, shelter and rehabilitation, food and clothing, formal and informal education, vocational training, life skills training among others. Since 2015, the Unit provided direct assistance to 1577 victims of trafficking. Additionally in 2016, other vulnerable migrants totaling to 1652 were also provided with direct assistance. IOM is also supporting the government of Myanmar’s efforts in the development of an effective cross border and national referral mechanism (NRM) to strengthen direct assistance interventions to victims of trafficking (VoTs) and vulnerable migrants throughout various steps - identification, documentation, reporting, data collection and management, family reunification, return and reintegration. In addition, IOM in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement conducted a series of capacity building trainings on enhancing protection and direct assistance to VoTs.
Partnership
IOM provides technical and financial support to the Government of Myanmar to enhance bilateral and regional collaboration mechanism to address trafficking and irregular migration. For instance IOM has facilitated the development of Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Myanmar and Thailand with a view to strengthen partnership on Protection of Trafficked Victims, especially women and children in Thailand. Furthermore, IOM Myanmar also provides technical and financial support to Myanmar Department of Social Welfare to organize and participate in Myanmar-Thai Case Management Meetings intended to enhance partnership on victim protection. IOM further supported the Central Body for Suppression of Trafficking in Persons (CBTIP) in the recently concluded Myanmar and China consultative dialogue whose main objective was to establish and strengthen cooperation and collaboration efforts and effective mechanism to combat human trafficking between China and Myanmar.
Other activities that IOM is involved in include research and needs assessments trafficking and irregular migration including vulnerabilities that Myanmar migrant face abroad during emergencies. IOM is also building the capacity of governments and other stakeholders to reduce migrant-specific vulnerabilities during emergencies through improved protection.
Main Projects
- Enhancing Government Capacity to Assist Vulnerable Migrants in the Greater Mekong Sub-region and Malaysia
- Building a National NGO Network to Combat Trafficking, especially in Conflict and Ceasefire Areas in Myanmar
- Reducing the Vulnerability of Migrants in Emergencies
- The Fishing Sector & Trafficking in Persons in the ASEAN region (FISH-TIP ASEAN Programme) Phase I
Immigration and Border Management
With Myanmar currently undergoing an unprecedented transition supported by key political and socio-economic reforms, increasing mobility, together with Myanmar’s emerging position on an increasing number of international air routes, road links and new border crossings, has created a need for strengthened immigration and border management. To this end, IOM supports the efforts of the Government of Myanmar through building technical and operational capacities at ports of entry and on an institution-wide basis through two projects.
With the support of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the US Department of State, IOM is producing and implementing a comprehensive training package for frontline officers from the Department of Immigration, Myanmar Police Force and Department of Social Welfare on how to better address transnational crime. The program is designed to ensure frontline officials have the necessary knowledge and skills to better respond to the growing trends in migrant smuggling and human trafficking, and includes a fully updated package of training materials specifically tailored to the Myanmar context, training of trainers and end-user trainings.
Complementing these efforts, IOM, with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of the Government of Canada, is working closely with the Department of Immigration to better address migrant smuggling through a multifaceted institution-wide approach. The project aims to promote the development of counter-smuggling legislation, increase the detection of fraudulent travel documentation, improve the induction training provided to frontline officers and encourage cross-border cooperation with neighbouring Thailand.
Main Projects
- Building the Capacity of the Government of Myanmar to Combat Transnational Crime through Comprehensive Law Enforcement and Protection Training
- Supporting the Government of Myanmar to Combat Migrant Smuggling through Improved Legislation, Operational Skills, Induction Training and Cross-Border Cooperation
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Facilitating Migration
Labour Migration
IOM Myanmar supports the Government of Myanmar’s on-going efforts to promote safe cross-border labour migration and to adopt a comprehensive and systematic approach to both the challenges and opportunities presented by growing international and internal migration. IOM’s work on labour migration and skill development has the two-fold objective of; ensuring that labour migration is safe and beneficial and; strengthening the link between labour migration and socio-economic development through enhanced skills mobility and mobility-sensitive skill development. In furthering such objectives, IOM and Myanmar’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population (MoLIP) cooperated to develop and review of the key strategic documents related to the management of international labour migration –The Five-Year National Plan of Action for the Management of International Labour Migration 2013–2017.
IOM supports the Government of Myanmar to improve its migration management capacity in the context of national reforms, as well as expand cooperation at bilateral and regional levels. IOM works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population (MOLIP) as well as selected members of Myanmar’s inter-ministerial Overseas Employment Supervisory Committee. IOM Myanmar undertakes a range of essential activities such as (i) organizing capacity building for Myanmar’s Labour Attaches in order to ensure the protection of rights of Myanmar’s migrant workers abroad and to maximize the benefits of organized labour migration (ii) supporting the Government in establishing Migrant Resource Centers (MRCs) which act as a hub for information on safe migration and complaints mechanism, (iii) developing Information, Education and Communications materials to promote safe migration and protection of migrant workers and (iv) support development of policy, legislation and bilateral MoUs, including the new National Plan of Action for the Management of International Labour Migration 2018-2023.
Human Development
In close collaboration with relevant ministries in the target countries Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam (CLMTV) and with support of the Swiss Development Cooperation, IOM is developing a multi-year project aimed at promoting poverty reduction in CLMTV. This would enable the migrants from CLMV, especially poor women, to have better employment opportunities and conditions in Thailand, through enhanced skills and knowledge of safe migration, leading to poverty reduction in communities of origin. In Myanmar, the project will be implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population (MOLIP) and other relevant government agencies responsible for skills development and sending and receiving labour migrants, private skills training providers and NGOs.
Main Projects
- Local Vocational Training (as part of the Vocational Skills Development Programme)
- Poverty Reduction Through Safe Migration, Skills Development And Enhanced Job Placement (PROMISE) in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.
- Supporting Myanmar’s Migration Management in the Context of National Reforms and Regional Transition.
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Migration Governance
Donors
Migration is a defining issue of the 21st century, and Myanmar is not an exception. Today, over 10 million Myanmar people, or 20% of its population, are migrants whether they migrate internally or internationally. Migration is a fact of life for millions of people in Myanmar, who participate in the phenomenon as migrants, left-behind family and community members, and employers of migrants. A variety of reasons exist in Myanmar which prompt people to move, including growing income gaps between Myanmar and neighboring countries, income disparities across and within various employment sectors in Myanmar, an absence of viable livelihood opportunities in communities of origin, insecure land tenure and land grabbing, poor access to markets, differences in access to public infrastructure and social services, policies that have favoured big businesses over the rights of the rural poor, a weak legal and institutional framework and displacement due to environmental and man-made disasters.
The major shifts that the country is experiencing – industrialization, urbanization, greater connectivity, peace process, regional integration and climate change, to name a few – will further induce greater movements of people. The prospect of economic growth alone suggests that an additional 10 million people, or nearly one-third of Myanmar’s rural population of 36 million, will migrate from villages to cities to take up non-farm employment in a couple of decades.
Migration, whether it is internal movement or international, has increasingly become a widespread livelihood strategy for people in Myanmar. At the same time, a closer look at the migration dynamics of the regions clearly shows that migration takes place as a result of complex local conditions, including the proximity to livelihood opportunities and established social networks.
Capitalizing Human Mobility for Poverty Alleviation and Inclusive Development for Myanmar (CHIME) is a project funded by the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) that contributes to the development of an informed dialogue on migration in Myanmar. A consortium consisting of IOM, the University of Sussex and Metta Development Foundation will conduct a mixed-method study on labour migration patterns and impacts at the individual, household and community levels in four regions of the country. A situation analysis on migration governance in Myanmar will also be developed. These activities will be used to generate common, evidence-based migration narratives that will influence national and local stakeholders’ analyses and actions, allowing actors to capitalize on mobility and create more effective development and poverty reduction interventions.
Migration as Livelihood Diversification Strategy in the Delta (MILDAS) is a LIFT funded project that examines migration and its relationship with development in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta. The project seeks to harness the positive effects of migration while mitigating its risks by providing trainings to locals. This includes trainings on safe and gainful migration decisions for aspirant migrants and trainings on remittance management and adaptations to absent family members for migrant-sending households.
Capitalizing Human Mobility for Poverty Alleviation and Inclusive Development for Myanmar (CHIME) is a project funded by the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) that contributes to the development of an informed dialogue on migration in Myanmar. A consortium consisting of IOM, the University of Sussex and Metta Development Foundation will conduct a mixed-method study on labour migration patterns and impacts at the individual, household and community levels in four regions of the country. A situation analysis on migration governance in Myanmar will also be developed. These activities will be used to generate common, evidence-based migration narratives that will influence national and local stakeholders’ analyses and actions, allowing actors to capitalize on mobility and create more effective development and poverty reduction interventions.
‘Increasing the Developmental Impact of Labour Migration through Strengthened Governance and Partnership (Twe Let)’ is the newest LIFT-funded project which aims to improve the governance and outreach capacities of national actors to subsidize the developmental impact migration has on Myanmar. Target beneficiaries of the Twe Let project are aspiring migrants and their families. The governance component of the project will involve IOM’s technical support to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population as the lead within the Myanmar Government as it initiates a migration policy to support the sustainable and inclusive development of Myanmar. The outreach component will be implemented in Chin State, Shan State, the Southeast region as well as the Dry Zone. The unique consortium of civil society organizations is composed of Chin Human Rights Organization, Mon Women’s Organization and Parami Development Network and Pact Global Microfinance Fund. This consortium enables Twe Let to have a strong footprint in 30 of Myanmar’s townships, providing direct assistance to 50,000 beneficiaries. Twe Let has four main focus areas: pre-migration outreach, financial literacy, skills development and job matching. The pre-migration outreach pillar assists aspiring migrants and their families in making informed, safe and strategic decisions. The financial literacy pillar assists remittance-receiving households in managing the money they receive. The skills development pillar trains aspiring migrants and remittance receiving families with skills to seek better employment. IOM and the CSO partners will collaborate on skills development training to ensure migrants are trained in skills that will be marketable during migration and upon return to villages. Finally, the job matching pillar assists graduates of skill development programmes in finding employment through collaboration with businesses and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Growing up in the time of increased mobility: Impact of migration on children in Myanmar is a research study funded by United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). The main objective of this study is to fill in a knowledge gap about the lives of children affected by migration in Myanmar based on data drawn from their own perspective. It placed the children at the centre of the enquiry, rather than treating them as passive participants /benefactors of the process.
Myanmar Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren: Impact of Cross-border Migration is a research study funded by Singapore Management University (SMU). The objectives of the project are to examine prevalence and differentials in older persons living with and caring for grandchildren who are left behind as a result of cross-border migration. The project will also examine patterns and factors associated with grandparent caregiving and investigate pathways to becoming custodial grandparents among grandparents co-residing with grandchildren under 15 years old in the target areas. Another objective is to explore the association between caregiving for grandchildren left behind from cross-border migration and the wellbeing of grandparents in Myanmar versus caregiving for grandchildren whose parents are co-resident. Finally the project will also examine the roles of remittances in mediating the associations between grandparental custodial care and wellbeing of the grandparents, and to provide an empirical basis for evidence-based policy and program recommendations to maximize advantages and to minimize disadvantages for grandparents of custodial caregiving for grandchildren.
Main Projects
- Increasing the Developmental Impact of Labour Migration through Strengthened Governance and Partnership (Twe Let)
- Capitalizing Human Mobility for Poverty Alleviation and Inclusive Development for Myanmar (CHIME)
- Migration as Livelihood Diversification Strategy in the Delta (MILDAS)
- Growing up in the time of increased mobility: Impact of migration on children in Myanmar
- Myanmar Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren: Impact of Cross-border Migration
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1(2015) World Bank, Migration and Development Brief 25 – Migration and Remittances – Recent Developments and Outlook, p.14
Last updated:
Facts and figures: July 2017
Main text: July 2017