Myanmar
In Myanmar (formerly Burma), HI advances the rights of casualties of mines and explosive remnants of war and people with disabilities, and promotes their inclusion in local communities.
Humanity & Inclusion organises mine risk education sessions for Burmese refugees of the Thai border. | © HI
Our actions
HI provides support to casualties of mines and explosive remnants of war and people with disabilities and helps them access rehabilitation care and psychological support. The organisation ensures they are able to access a new source of income. HI also helps people protect themselves by providing them with risk education on mines and explosive remnants of war.
HI trains medical teams in hospitals, including emergency services in children’s hospitals in Yangon and Mandalay, in natural disaster risk preparedness and performs advocacy work on the development of national disaster preparedness plans. The organisation also trains disabled people’s organisations to manage these risks and to take into account the most vulnerable people. The goal is to make sure people with disabilities and the most vulnerable are taken into account in emergency preparation plans, and are able to protect themselves in an emergency. HI aims to build the resilience of communities to future natural disasters in Myanmar. The organisation also runs rehabilitation sessions for people with disabilities affected by the conflict in Kayin State.
HI also implements a project on the early detection of disability and early intervention (rehabilitation sessions, psychosocial support, etc.) for children under the age of five and pregnant women among others, targeted in particular at victims of natural disasters. The aim is to prevent the development of complications or a disability.
Moreover, HI ensures people with disabilities have access to services such as healthcare and education and can access new sources of income.
Lastly, since 1984, HI has been active in Burmese refugee camps along the Myanmar-Thailand border. The organisation has set up rehabilitation centres and supplies prostheses and mobility aids (wheelchairs, crutches and walking frames) to people with disabilities. This specific equipment is produced in workshops inside five camps.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, HI has continued to help the world’s most vulnerable people. We have adapted our interventions in more than 45 countries.
Areas of intervention
Latest stories
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Fabrice Vandeputte, Humanity & Inclusion's director in Myanmar, explains how his teams are helping the most vulnerable individuals protect themselves from the coronavirus.
Use of banned explosive weapons at highest level since 2010
From Syria to Yemen, Afghanistan, Colombia, Myanmar and Tunisia, the use of banned explosive weapons increased significantly in 2014 and 2015. To mark International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, Handicap International is calling for an immediate end to the use of these weapons.
Floods in Myanmar: “This sort of thing will happen again. We’ve got to be ready for it.”
Emergency and rehabilitation specialist Eric Weerts has been lending his support to disabled people’s organisations involved in the humanitarian relief effort in Myanmar. Accompanied by a logistics expert, Eric has managed to visit areas still under water, particularly in the south of the country, in the Irrawaddy river delta.
a life
Background
According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines report, Myanmar is one of the countries with the highest number of casualties of anti-personnel mines and unexploded devices - more than 3,600 since 1999. In 2015, at least 159 new accidents caused by mines or explosive remnants of war were reported.
Myanmar remains the only regime in the world to make regular use of anti-personnel mines, but no mine clearance operations have been implemented.
Number of HI staff members: 61
Date programme opened: 1994
