Life in Myanmar

Myanmar is one of the top three countries in the world affected by natural disasters and suffers frequently from extreme weather events. Currently ranked 149 out of 191 countries and territories in the Human Development Index (HDI), nearly one in three children under the age of five have stunted growth and poverty is estimated to have doubled in the country within the past couple of years.

Myanmar has struggled to recover from the effects of multiple crises in recent years. In 2015, Cyclonic Storm Komen devastated the country, displacing 1.7 million people. That same year, violence forced tens of thousands of Rohingya people from their communities and IDP (internally displaced people) camps in Rakhine State. This number has since risen to hundreds of thousands and over 1 million people have been forcibly displaced.

The combined effects of the military takeover in early 2021, Covid-19, internal conflict and global disruptions have deepened Myanmar’s economic and humanitarian crisis. Education has paid a high price for the country’s unrelenting turmoil – particularly among the poorest households – with around 91,889 children in currently out of school.