A survey by the United Nations World Food Program has found high rates of poverty and malnutrition among families living in Myanmar’s most arid regions.
More than 18 percent of the families in the dry zones endure hunger, joblessness and other problems associated with poverty, the WFP’s vulnerability analysis mapping officer, Nicolas Guillaud, told a news conference in Yangon on January 16.
The finding was based on a survey of 1,800 families in the central dry zone, which covers much of Mandalay, Magway and Sagaing regions, and dry zones identified by the WFP in Ayeyarwady and Bago regions.
“There are many reasons why 18.5 per cent of families in these dry zones live in conditions of poverty,” said Mr Guillaud. “The causes differ between zones, but mainly involve drought and shifting market circumstances.”
The survey found that 20 percent of the families and 12 percent of the children aged under five in the dry zones are malnourished.
About 25 percent did not have livestock such as cows and buffalos and 40 percent had no access to farmland, it found.
Economic hardship had forced members of 31 percent of the families to seek work outside Myanmar.
The WFP conducted the survey in partnership with the Ministry of Livestock’s Rural Development Department and Save the Children, the international non-government organization.
“This survey is effective because with it we can see what needs to be done region by region and local governments can carry out development projects as needed,” said U Kyaw Moe Hlaing, a director with the Rural Development Department.
The WFP hopes to conduct a similar national survey this year.
