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Myanmar

Myanmar: Appeal No. MAAMM002 - Annual Report 2008

Attachments

This report covers the period 1 January to 31 December 2008

In brief

Programme summary

November marked the six-month anniversary of Cyclone Nargis. As the relief operations come to an end, the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) was able to report on its increasing focus on the early recovery phase of the response to the cyclone. The national society continues to focus on the development of appropriate infrastructure to support the response in the Ayeyarwady delta. However, there has also been a clear but gradual repositioning of programming and promotion among partners to ensure continued support for various humanitarian issues faced in the rest of the country.

Implementation outside of the cyclone-affected area has been understandably affected; however, there is renewed interest in the planned reviews, namely the disaster management review; a logistics capacity assessment, including warehousing issues in the country; and a branch development review. The Myanmar Red Cross articulated that it is committed to trying to build broader capacity through the Nargis response, and a process has been initiated to map out the issues to be tackled through a subsequent Nargis transition planning process.

There is some cause for cautious optimism that the successful implementation of the humanitarian action within the delta will provide a positive climate for further humanitarian engagement across the country.

Although the planned implementation of many activities was disrupted by the necessity of responding to the large-scale disaster, it is because of the success of pre-existing MRCS community-based approaches that many activities could continue throughout the country relying on the commitment of local supervisory committees and volunteers.

Disaster management

The impact of major hazards will be reduced through more effective disaster response based on evaluations and reviews of current practices. Wider disaster risk reduction initiatives will be strengthened further by enhancing the national society capacity, particularly in human resources at all levels, as well as by producing or revising relevant documents and existing practices in order to implement the disaster risk reduction initiatives effectively. Besides awareness-raising about hazards, vulnerabilities and risks at community level will be one of the priorities in order to enhance the coping capacity of the communities. Emergency response capacity will be improved by pre-positioning relief stocks in strategically located warehouses and strengthening logistics capacity.

Health and care

Health and care initiatives continue to remain a large and important component of MRCS activities to promote and improve conditions for vulnerable community members. Communicable diseases including dengue, malaria, diarrhoea and tuberculosis remain a persistent challenge within the country. The three key areas of activity identified in previous years continue throughout 2008, namely: public health in emergencies, community-based health promotion, and community-based first aid (CBFA).

Organizational development

While most of the organizational development work continued to focus on the Nargis operation, the national society clearly recognized the need to maintain the momentum of its annual programme implementation. Priorities for organizational development under the Nargis response have been to support the MRCS with the scale-up of human resources for the operational hubs in the delta and at the national headquarters. Other priorities included addressing volunteer-related issues and supporting MRCS finance development. The regional finance development delegate has visited twice to work with the MRCS on financial management and a visit by the regional organizational development delegate in September supported the initiation of a process to clarify an organizational development strategy related to Nargis. The latter also followed up with a subsequent visit in December to further map out issues to address as a part of a Nargis transition planning process during 2009. MRCS organized volunteer training to support the cyclone recovery assessment plans and field visits with the country office and MRCS finance teams to review the operations.

The 2008-2009 annual plan was revised in August and the appeal planning process for 2009-2010 was completed in September. The primary focus has been on branch development in the states and divisions not affected directly by Cyclone Nargis. An external review of the branch development programme is planned, with field visits to the pilot townships to monitor ongoing support.

Humanitarian values

The national society has been promoting its work with vulnerable communities and humanitarian values through various activities and programmes. Red Cross dissemination sessions targeting Red Cross members, volunteers, government representatives and military officers have been conducted, while a video documentary titled Myanmar Red Cross in Action which pays tribute to the tremendous dedication of volunteers, and launched at the end of November. Local media visits and visits from different partners have also been facilitated to visit the cyclone-affected areas over the past several months.

There was increased cooperation and coordination, and more discussions between the International Federation, ICRC and Danish Red Cross during 2008 to support Myanmar Red Cross Society's communication and humanitarian values programme plans. A unit for the restoration of family links (RFL) was set up at the headquarters and selected townships to assist displaced populations in Nargis-affected areas. Two representatives from the MRCS participated in the 2nd regional forum on international humanitarian law in Manila, with the support of the ICRC. The MRCS is also currently in discussion with Danish Red Cross incountry to initiate a project on 'using mass media for health promotion'.

Financial situation: The total 2008 budget is CHF 2,635,860 (USD 2.3 million or EUR 1.75 million) or which 108 per cent is covered. Expenditure overall was 63 per cent.

Our partners: The MRCS has received valuable support from the following partner national societies: Australian Red Cross/government, British Red Cross, Danish Red Cross, Finnish Red Cross/government, German Red Cross, Hong Kong branch of the Red Cross Society of China, Japanese Red Cross/government, Norwegian Red Cross, Swedish Red Cross/government, and Taiwan Red Cross Organization. It also works closely with UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA and the Burnett Institute. With reference to government authorities, the society has fostered close relationships with the ministry of health, and the ministry of social welfare, relief and resettlement.

The MRCS has also received support from the national disaster management offices of the government, local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), ICRC, civil society, communities and local authorities.

On behalf of the Myanmar Red Cross, the International Federation would like to thank all partners and donors for their contributions and support in response to this appeal.