While a much stronger second wave of COVID-19 cases poses a serious and sustained threat to the health of the Myanmar population, it also brings renewed economic disruptions and poses new challenges for efforts to avert poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition. To generate evidence that can better inform the design of emergency response and economic recovery, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the World Bank have implemented phone surveys designed to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on household incomes and poverty, food insecurity experiences, and dietary quality, as well as coping mechanisms and access to government and non-government assistance.
On November 11, 2020, the Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity held a virtual policy seminar in collaboration with the Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank, presenting the findings from these phone surveys. The seminar reviewed the impacts of the first wave of COVID-19 in Myanmar and provided a preliminary assessment of the impacts of the second wave, with highlights of potential actions for social protection and economic recovery strategies.
Dr. U Min Ye Paing Hein, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Planning, Finance, and Industry (MOPFI), Daw Ei Ei Phyo, Deputy Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement (MSWRR), and U Kyaw Swe Lin, Director General of the Department of Planning, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation (MOALI) also provided government perspectives on these issues and information on the recent actions the Myanmar government has taken to recover from COVID-19 impacts.
Moderator:
Katy Webley, Fund Director, Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT)
Opening Remarks:
Dr. U Min Ye Paing Hein, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry (MOPFI)
Speakers:
Impacts of COVID-19 on agricultural production in Myanmar’s Dry Zone by Isabel Lambrecht, Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Myanmar
Poverty and food security impacts of the first and second waves of COVID-19 on nutritionally vulnerable households in urban Yangon and the rural Dry Zone by Derek Headey, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Myanmar
Welfare impacts of COVID-19: Insights from a national household phone survey by Emilie Perge, Senior Economist, World Bank, Myanmar
Panelist:
Daw Ei Ei Phyo, Deputy Director, Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement (MSWRR)
Closing Remarks:
U Kyaw Swe Lin, Director General, Department of Planning, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI)
Download the slides from "Assessments of the impact of COVID-19 on Myanmar's food security and welfare" here.
Relevant publications
- The World Bank: Myanmar COVID-19 Monitoring Platform
- Poverty, food insecurity, and social protection during COVID-19 in Myanmar: Combined evidence from a household telephone survey and micro-simulations
- Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar: Agricultural production and rural livelihoods in two irrigation schemes - August 2020 survey round
- Additional COVID-19 impact analyses from IFPRI-Myanmar
