About Myanmar

  • Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a multi-ethnic country in Southeast Asia with an eventful history including British colonialization, independence, and military rule.
  • Myanmar is more than 16 times the size of Switzerland and with its almost 54 million people has 6 times more inhabitants. More than one third of the rural population is living in poverty and face various economic and social challenges.
  • In 2011, a careful opening and development of the country began, together with a democratisation process. This was halted by a military coup
    on 1 February 2021. Since then, tensions with ethnic groups have escalated in different parts of the country.
  • The education sector and public schools are chronically underfunded, especially in remote areas. About one in five children is not attending primary school.
  • Access to health care services is very limited. There are only an estimated 0.7 doctors and 0.2 community health workers responsible for the health care of 1,000 people.
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Myanmar is at risk of losing over a decade of hard-won gains in the fight against poverty
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years, is the average duration of schooling in Myanmar
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With a life expectancy of 67.1 years, Myanmar ranks last in the region

Our partner in Myanmar

  • Our partner in Myanmar is the Canada-based Myanmar/Burma Schools Project Foundation (MBSPF). Because of their longstanding experience, network and local construction crew, they manage to operate even during this politically uncertain time.
  • We have been supporting the construction and renovation of schools in marginalised communities in Myanmar since 2015, enabling students to access a safe learning environment.
  • We are planning to increase our engagement in Myanmar and support the local population on their path to a prosperous, healthy, and empowered future. As a first step, we have started to strengthen rural communities’ access to health care services.

Our Focus in Myanmar

Health

  • Even when local healthcare workers can reach a village, often there is little or
    no  infrastructure available where they can provide medical attention or work on prevention.
  • We support our partner MBSPF to build and equip clinics in rural areas, in cooperation with the village communities and the relevant authorities.
  • The health clinics are handed over to the local authorities to ensure sustainability of human resources and maintenance.

Education

  • We support our partner MBSPF to build or renovate school buildings in rural areas to ensure that schools are not too far away and can provide a safe and inspiring learning environment.
  • The village community as well as the relevant authorities are involved in the process to ensure that they take on building, running and maintaining the school as their own, thus guaranteeing sustainability.

Projects in Myanmar

Together we make it happen

Keep up to date with our exciting activities