Mary's story: ECCD teacher in Aing Ma Village, Laputta Township

By Aye Aye Yee, Education Specialist

Ayeyarwady Region, 15 September 2016 – Mary Moe, 40, is an Early Childhood Development (ECD) teacher, and a motivated mother who lives with her eight children and her husband in one-room house without electricity, in Aing Ma village, in a rural area of Laputta, Ayeyarwady Region.

National Polio Vaccination Campaign: Photo Gallery

From 20 to 22 February 2016 UNICEF and WHO supported the Ministry of Health to conduct a national polio vaccination campaign in all 330 townships of Myanmar, targeting around 4.6 million children from all over the country.  Here some of the pictures from the massive campaign.

 

5 Questions to Daniel Toole, UNICEF Regional Director, following recent visit to Rakhine and the review of the “Rakhine State Plan for Children”



©UNICEF Myanmar/2014

By Mariana Palavra on 16 December 2014

“All children, all rights, everywhere, at all times”, that’s how Daniel Toole, Regional Director for UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Region, sums up his five-day visit to Myanmar.
 

In his third official visit to Myanmar, the Regional Director went to Rakhine State for the first time, where he had the chance to visit both the humanitarian and development assistance provided by UNICEF in cooperation with the Rakhine State Government.

Choose handwashing, choose health

October 15, 2014

 

The annual Global Handwashing Day (October 15) celebrations are occasions to emphasise the role of handwashing with soap in the prevention of common but potentially lethal diseases such as diarrhoea, and many countries around the world are holding activities to promote the practice.  Here we take a look at one initiative which is already proving successful in Myanmar:

International Youth Day – Myitkyina, 12th August 2014

Thirteen year old Mai Zinbu from Kachin, won first prize in the essay competition during the celebrations for International Youth Day in Myitkyina Township in Kachin State. ©UNICEF Myanmar/2014

“The world changes with your example, not with your opinions”: that’s what I found written on a wall somewhere during a trip in Central America. I was still a student, my last year of University. And that sentence contributed to inspiring all the following steps I’ve taken. That’s why probably it came back to my mind today, entering the compound of Myitkyina University.

Mine Action in Kachin State

Children helping to prepare a display at Mine Action Day
©UNICEF Myanmar/2014/Phyusin Ngwethaw

Kachin State, 4 April 2014 - Landmines and explosive remnants of war injure and kill people every day around the world. Harmful devices left behind from times of conflict or placed intentionally continue to cause harm to vulnerable populations, including women and children. They also deny access to land that could be used for agriculture and livelihoods, inhibit the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and endanger refugees and internally displaced persons. Unfortunately this is also the case in Myanmar.

Universal Children’s Day 2013 – children call for peace across Myanmar

 

Anna Richardson works on advocacy, communication and partnerships at UNICEF Myanmar. She was Campaign Coordinator for the launch of ‘Peace not Violence: Joining Hands Across Myanmar’ under the leadership of Campaign Director Kirsten Sjolander with the support of members of the UNICEF Myanmar advocacy and communication and child protection teams including Media Coordinator Pa Pa Khin and Child Protection Officer Khin Thiri Win.

On Saturday 23 November 2013, I was lucky enough to be a part of a show of hands against violence in Myanmar. What made this experience unique was that these were children’s hands with children’s words of peace - words like “love”, “kindness”, “understanding”. Some messages even tapped into societal issues related to violence like inter-communal relations and alcohol abuse. The words – and the children themselves – sent a strong message of non-violence, the sea of hands a striking display.

UNICEF supported Non-Formal Primary Education (NFPE) offers second chance education for out-of-school children in Mon State

© UNICEF Myamar/2013/Myo Thame
Thar Thar Aung in the NFPE class in NO (2) Basic Primary School, Kyauktan Ward in Mawlamyaing

 

By Ye Lwin

 

Mawlamyaing, Mon State, Myanmar, 29 July 2013:  Thar Thar Aung 13, is happy to have his dream come true.  As a school drop-out he had little hope for a second chance until he got back on track with his primary education through Non Formal Primary Education (NFPE) programme.

UNICEF extends ECD programme to children in remote areas of Kayin State

 

© UNICEF Myamar/2013/MyoThame
Four year old Su Yadana and her mother Saw Nwe at the ECD centre at Kawtbaw Post Primary School. Su Yadana enjoys reading books provided by UNICEF

By Ye Lwin

 

Kawkareik, Kayin State,  17 July, 2013:Saw Nwe, mother of four year old Su Yadana from Kawtbaw village is proud of her daughter who attends the UNICEF supported Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre with her friends.

UNICEF-supported community volunteer training and prevention activities help control malaria in high risk areas

© UNICEF Myanmar/2011/Thet Wai Hlaing
Lwe Zar Thin working on her malaria prevention plan

By Dr. Thet Wai Hlaing

Kyaikhto Township, Mon State, Myanmar, 19 June 2013: Lwe Zar Thin, 45, is one of the health volunteers who received five-day intensive training on prevention and treatment of malaria in Thit Seint Kone village, which used be to a malaria high risk area in Mon State.

Lwe Zar Thin is a mother of two children, has long experience as an auxiliary midwife since 1989. She lives and works in the Thit Seint Kone village, with 58 households and 287 villagers. The village was infamous in Mon state for its high prevalence, high risk malaria status with an 1a ranking according to malaria micro-stratification.
  
She is happy that her work is contributing to fighting and reducing malaria deaths and malaria risk status in her village has improved from high to low. Malaria micro-stratification report 2013 declares Thit Seint Kone village as a malaria death free village.

“I had a five-day community volunteer training on how to prevent and treat malaria; I also received three days’ refresher training course three months later,” Lwe Zar Thin said.

Following the training, in October 2011, she committed to work as a volunteer to fight against malaria in her community. Now there are 25 malaria volunteers working in the village.

“All 25 volunteers from Thit Seint Kone village joined this five day training, which gave them a grasp of effectively prevention of malaria outbreak in high risk areas,” said Dr. Thet Wai Hlaing, Regional Programme Officer from UNICEF office in Mawlamyaing, the capital of Mon State.

Majority of villagers are living on rubber plantation, or in growing ground nut, sesame and paddy. Some work in the Myawaddy Trading Zone along Myanmar-Thai border or in the gold mines in the nearby areas. 

Midwives make monthly supervisory visits to support trained volunteers. Township and state level officials also make quarterly visits to the villages to monitor, support and improve malaria prevention activities as necessarily.

Every febrile case from her village consults Lwe Zar, and she helps them get malaria test and appropriate treatment.  On an average she handles 10 to15 malaria patients every month. “We are use rapid diagnostic test kits and anti-malaria drugs,” said Lwe Zar Thin.

Every month she finds at least one to three malaria parasite cases from those who are working in the gold mines and migrant workers working along Thai-Myanmar border. “Fortunately, the number of malaria cases in my village is dropping,” added Lwe Zar, “In spite of my years of experience as auxiliary midwife, I gained knowledge and confidence in dealing with malaria patients after receiving the UNICEF-supported intensive training and having worked as a malaria volunteer.”
 
She feels that people in her village rely on her and appreciate her help. This job is not for generating a big income, but she feels much passionate for the work she is doing.
 
Malaria is one of the four major diseases responsible for under-5 child mortality in Myanmar. Some 284 out of 330 townships in Myanmar are malaria endemic and about 60 per cent of malaria cases are reported from forest areas.

Working Together in Strengthening Immunization and Health Systems in Myanmar

Yangon, Myanmar, 4 April 2013: The first round of polio immunization campaign aiming to cover 370,000 under five children was carried out from 26 to 30 April 2013 in 12 conflicts affected Townships in Rakhine State.

A stitch in time: street children learn a trade

Thanda sews a shirt during a vocational training session
© UNICEF Myanmar/2012/Andy Brown

Sixteen-year-old Thanda* has spent much of her life living and working on the streets of Yangon, capital of Myanmar. She is a small, serious teenager in a blue polo shirt and traditional longyi skirt. Thanda’s father is a manual labourer and her mother is a washer woman. She has seven siblings. When the family earns enough, they live in bamboo hut outside town. But other times they can’t afford the rent and have to live on the streets.

UNICEF prioritizes children's needs in Rakhine State

UNICEF and Water and Sanitation sector partners distributed basic hygiene items, built latrines and safe water supply sources and promoted hygiene practices in Myanmar's Rakhine State.

UNICEF scales-up response, calls for stronger combat against child malnutrition in Rakhine State

Rakhine State, MYANMAR, 23 November 2012 - While precise information about nutrition levels in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is still difficult to obtain, UNICEF is very concerned about the extent and severity of child malnutrition, which has been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict.

Myanmar Launches New Vaccine to Strengthen Combat Against Major Childhood Illnesses

Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, 6 November 2012: In a landmark move to improve child health, Myanmar’s Ministry of Health today officially introduced a new vaccine to protect children against five potentially life-threatening diseases.  Introduction of the Penta valent vaccine marks a milestone in Myanmar’s child immunization. It was announced in a ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Health with WHO and UNICEF.

The inaugural of the Penta valent vaccine was presided by the Minister of Health H. E. Dr. Phe Thet Khin. WHO Representative Dr. Herbert Tennakoon and UNICEF Myanmar Chief of Health Dr. Marinus Gotink and Mr. Dagfinn Hoybraten, Chairman of the Board for GAVI, also spoke at the event.

The introduction of the new vaccine records an important stride in terms of Myanmar Government’s commitment to combat vaccine preventable diseases through co-financing of the vaccines to the amount of US$ 5 million over the next 5 years.

By combining Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Hib vaccines, Penta valent helps prevent five infections more effectively among children under five years of age. The Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine is an important addition to strengthen routine immunization and to improve child health. Children of Myanmar would now be protected against by five antigens with a single shot during routine immunization.

This will not only have a positive impact on child health, but would also save families the costs for health care; also save time and labour of health workers that can contribute to more effective and systematic management of the Myanmar immunization programme.

 

Penta valent vaccine is made available to the children of Myanmar with the support of GAVI Alliance, a Geneva-based public-private partnership that helps improve health in the world’s poorest countries. The introduction of new vaccine is through the partnership between the Government of Myanmar, WHO, UNICEF and the GAVI Alliance and other partners and civil society.

Myanmar now joins the list of 179 countries where Haemophilus influenzae type b has become part of national immunization schedules. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) remains a leading cause of childhood bacterial meningitis and pneumonia, and can cause other serious infections for which children aged between 4 to 18 months are most at risk.

Young group in Myanmar tell their stories

©UNICEF Myanmar/2012
Ma Yi Mon Oo and Ma Poe Pwint Phyu at the five-day writing skill workshop for children held in Myin Chan. 

 By Sandar Linn

 

Tin Htun Wai, 16, found an unprecedented pouring of his heartfelt thoughts and words as he connected his pen with the paper. All those thoughts that he has been keeping to himself have found a way out as he was asked to put into practice what he learnt about writing this week.

Myanmar observes Nutrition Promotion Month

In August 2012, Myanmar observes National Nutrition Month for the tenth consecutive year and world Breastfeeding Week for the twenty-first year. The theme of the year is: ‘Understanding the past, planning for the future’.

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