Post-Nargis Periodic Review I i
FOREWORD
On 2 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck the coast of Myanmar. Over two days, the Cyclone moved across the Ayeyarwady Delta and southern Yangon Division resulting in a tragic loss of life and widespread destruction. This disaster affected Townships with a total population of more than seven million. Many of the people affected suffered devastating losses of family members, homes and livelihoods. This report presents a snapshot of the situation on the ground half a year after Cyclone Nargis with a focus on the current needs of the Cyclone-affected population.
In September 2008, the Tripartite Core Group, which brings together the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Government of the Union of Myanmar and the United Nations undertook to conduct a series of reviews of the situation of the Cyclone-affected population over 12 months.
The humanitarian relief and early recovery support to the affected population continues to help people overcome the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, with extensive efforts by the Government of the Union of Myanmar, local communities, non-governmental organisations, the United Nations and private individuals. The Periodic Review process seeks to generate data that will be a useful tool for monitoring the ongoing relief efforts, identify the needs of the affected population and facilitate strategic decision making to continue support for the affected population.
The findings of the first Periodic Review are contained in this report. It was produced fromthe analysis of comprehensive and credible needs assessments conducted between 29 October and 19 November 2008 in the Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions. The methodology of this Review built on the Village Tract Assessment conducted in June 2008.
This report was prepared jointly by the members of the Tripartite Core Group with the support of the humanitarian and development community. The Tripartite Core Group appreciates the continued engagement and contributions of our partners to this important process. Above all, we give our sincere thanks to the people affected by Cyclone Nargis for their participation in the surveys that form the foundation of this first Periodic Review.
On behalf of the Tripartite Core Group,
H.E. Mr. Bansarn Bunnag H.E. U Kyaw Thu Mr. Bishow B. Parajuli Ambassador of Thailand Deputy Foreign Minister UN Resident/Humanitarian to the Union of Myanmar and Government of the Union of Myanmar Coordinator Senior ASEAN Member of the TCG Chairman of the TCG United Nations in Myanmar UN Representative in the TCG Post-Nargis Periodic Review I ii
Ac k n ow l ed g e m e n t s
The Tripartite Core Group wishes to express its sincere appreciation to the many people who have made the first Periodic Review possible. The ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force for the Victims of Cyclone Nargis, the ministries of the Government of the Union of Myanmar and agencies of the United Nations have all contributed to the success of the Review. Our thanks to the Clusters for their participation. We also extend our thanks for the generous financial support of the donor community.
The data and analysis that is presented in this report was compiled through the efforts of the Periodic Review Team.
This report would not have been possible without the generous participation of the people affected by Cyclone Nargis. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I iii
Ta b l e of Co n t e n t s
Fo r e w o r d ...... i
Acknowledgements ...... ii
Ta b l e o f Co n t e n t s ...... i i i
Li s t o f Ab b r e v i a t i o n s a n d Ac r o n y m s ...... v i
Ex e c u t i v e Su m m a r y ...... 1
Se c t i o n 1: Introduction ...... 3 1.1 Im p a c t o f Cy c l o n e Na r g i s ...... 3 1.2 Pe r i o d i c Re v i e w p r o c e s s ...... 3 Th e Tr i p a r t i t e Co r e Gr o u p (TCG) ...... 4 1.3 Ot h e r p o s t -Na r g i s r e p o r t s ...... 5 1.4 Me t h o d o l o g y o f t h e Re v i e w ...... 5 Th e Pl u g -i n ...... 7 We a l t h In d e x ...... 7 1.5 Da t a i n t e r p r e t a t i o n a n d u s a g e ...... 7 Wh a t i s a n i n d i c at o r ? ...... 7 Wh a t i s s p a t i a l s a m p l i n g ? ...... 8 Ho w d o I r e a d t h e m a p s a n d h i s t o g r a m s ? ...... 8 Wh a t i s i n t h e t e x t b o x e s ? ...... 8 1.6 Ne x t s t e p s ...... 8
Se c t i o n 2: Fi n d i n g s ...... 9 2.1 He a l t h ...... 10 2.2 Nu t r i t i o n ...... 18 2.3 Fo o d ...... 20 2.4 Wa t e r s u p p l y , Sa n i tat i o n a n d Hy g i e n e (WASH) ...... 25 2.5 Sh e l t e r ...... 35 2.6 Ed u c a t i o n ...... 40 2.7 Li v e l i h o o d s ...... 46 2.7.1 Cr e d i t ...... 48 2.7.2 Ag r i c u l t u r e ...... 49 2.7.3 Li v e s t o c k ...... 56 2.7.4 Fi s h e r i e s ...... 60 2.8 Cr o s s c u t t i n g i s s u e s ...... 64 2.8.1 Vu l n e r a b i l i t y a n d p r o t e c t i o n ...... 64 2.8.2 We a l t h ...... 66 2.8.3 Re c e i p t o f a i d ...... 67 2.9 Co n c l u s i o n s ...... 68 Fi r s t p r i o r i t i e s ...... 68 1) Ne e d s a r e d i v e r s e ...... 69 2) De p t h a n d c o v e r a g e o f a s s i s t a n c e i s r e q u i r e d ...... 69 3) Ne e d f o r m o r e i n t e g r a t e d p r o g r a m m i n g ...... 69 Su m m a r y ...... 70 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I iv
Se c t i o n 3: An n e x e s ...... 71 3.1 Me t h o d o l o g y o f t h e f i r s t Pe r i o d i c Re v i e w ...... 71 3.1.1 Qu a n t i t a t i v e methodology ...... 71 3.1.2 Qu a n t i t a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t t o o l s ...... 73 3.1.3 Qu a l i t a t i v e methodology ...... 96 3.1.4 Qu a l i t a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t t o o l s ...... 98 3.1.5 Qu a l i t a t i v e r e s u l t s ...... 99 Ca s e 1) Th a w t a r Kh i n ...... 99 Ca s e 2) Da w My a Se i n ...... 100 Ca s e 3) Da w Th e t Th e t Sw e ...... 100 Ca s e 4) Da w My i n t Th e i n ...... 102 Ca s e 5) U Kh i n Mo e ...... 102 Ca s e 6) U Hl a So e ...... 103 Ca s e 7) U To e Ky i ...... 103 Ca s e 8) U Ma w Th a n e ...... 104 Ca s e 9) Da w Ky i Oh n ...... 104 3.2 Li s t o f To w n s h i p s i n a s s e s s m e n t a r e a ...... 106 3.3 Contributing a g e n c i e s ...... 107 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I v
Li s t o f Fi g u r e s Fi g u r e H1: PHC fa c i l i t i e s a r e w i t h i n 1 h o u r t r a v e l t i m e ...... 10 Fi g u r e H2: Wa i t i n g t i m e a t PHC fa c i l i t i e s i s l e s s t h a n 1 h o u r ...... 11 Fi g u r e H3: He a l t h w o r k e r s i n t h e c o m m u n i t y ...... 12 Fi g u r e H4: Co v e r a g e o f Me a s l e s v a c c i n a t i o n ...... 13 Fi g u r e H5: Me d i c i n e a v a i l a b l e a t PHC fa c i l i t i e s a l l o r m o s t o f t h e t i m e ...... 14 Fi g u r e H6: Pr e v a l e n c e o f d i a r r h o e a ...... 15 Fi g u r e H7: Pr e v a l e n c e o f f e v e r ...... 16 Fi g u r e H8: Re c e i v e d m e d i c a l a s s i s t a n c e s i n c e Cy c l o n e Na r g i s ...... 17 Fi g u r e N1: Gl o b a l a c u t e u n d e r n u t r i t i o n ...... 18 Fi g u r e N2: In a p p r o p r i a t e t r e a t m e n t o f d i a r r h o e a ...... 19 Fi g u r e F1: Pr o p o r t i o n o f h o u s e h o l d s w i t h p o o r f o o d consumption ...... 21 Fi g u r e F2: Mo d e r a t e o r Se v e r e f o o d i n s e c u r i t y ...... 22 Fi g u r e F3: Se v e r e f o o d i n s e c u r i t y ...... 23 Fi g u r e F4: Re c e i v e d f o o d a s s i s t a n c e s i n c e Cy c l o n e Na r g i s ...... 24 Fi g u r e W1: Us e o f i m p r o v e d d r i n k i n g w a t e r s o u r c e s ...... 25 Fi g u r e W2: Dr i n k i n g w a t e r s o u r c e s ...... 26 Fi g u r e W3: Us e o f a n a d e q u a t e w a t e r t r e a t m e n t m e t h o d ...... 27 Fi g u r e W4: Me t h o d s o f w a t e r t r e a t m e n t ...... 28 Fi g u r e W5: Sa n i tat i o n m e t h o d ...... 28 Fi g u r e W6: Us e o f i m p r o v e d s a n i tat i o n fa c i l i t y ...... 29 Fi g u r e W7: Ad e q u a t e d i s p o s a l o f c h i l d r e n ’s fa e c e s ...... 30 Fi g u r e W8: Wa s h i n g h a n d s b e f o r e f o o d p r e p a r a t i o n ...... 31 Fi g u r e W9: Wa t e r r e c e i v e d ...... 32 Fi g u r e W10: Wa t e r s t o r a g e a n d t r a n s p o r t e q u i p m e n t r e c e i v e d ...... 33 Fi g u r e W11: So a p o r h y g i e n e e q u i p m e n t r e c e i v e d ...... 34 Fi g u r e S1: In a d e q u a t e s h e l t e r c o n d i t i o n s ...... 35 Fi g u r e S2: Pl a s t i c , t a r p a u l i n o r c a n v a s i s u s e d i n w a l l s o r r o o f ...... 36 Fi g u r e S3: Pr e p a r e d n e s s f o r s t o r m s a n d f l o o d i n g ...... 37 Fi g u r e S4: Re c e i v e d e m e r g e n c y s h e l t e r , construction m a t e r i a l s o r t o o l s ...... 38 Fi g u r e E1: Pr o p o r t i o n o f Ch i l d r e n a g e d 5 t o 10 y e a r s a t t e n d i n g s c h o o l ...... 40 Fi g u r e E2: Re a s o n s f o r n o n -a t t e n d a n c e a t s c h o o l (a g e s 5 t o 10) ...... 41 Fi g u r e E3: Pr o p o r t i o n o f Ch i l d r e n a g e d 11 t o 15 y e a r s a t t e n d i n g s c h o o l ...... 42 Fi g u r e E4: Re a s o n s f o r n o n -a t t e n d a n c e a t s c h o o l (a g e s 11 t o 15) ...... 43 Fi g u r e E5: Pr o p o r t i o n o f h o u s e h o l d s w i t h Pa r e n t a l involvement i n PTAs ...... 44 Fi g u r e E6: Re c e i v e d e d u c a t i o n a s s i s t a n c e ...... 45 Fi g u r e L1: Li v e l i h o o d s b e f o r e a n d af t e r Cy c l o n e Na r g i s ...... 46 Fi g u r e L2: Pr i n c i p a l livelihoods b e f o r e a n d af t e r Cy c l o n e Na r g i s (g r o u p e d ) ...... 47 Fi g u r e L3: Pr i n c i p a l a c t i v i t i e s b e f o r e a n d af t e r Cy c l o n e Na r g i s (g r o u p e d ) ...... 48 Fi g u r e A1: Pa d d y l o s t a n d n o t y e t r e c o v e r e d ...... 50 Fi g u r e A2: Re a s o n s f o r l o s s o f p a d d y ...... 51 Fi g u r e A3: Tr e e c r o p s (p e r e n n i a l ) l o s t a n d n o t y e t r e c o v e r e d ...... 52 Fi g u r e A4: Re a s o n s f o r l o s s o f t r e e c r o p s (p e r e n n i a l ) ...... 53 Fi g u r e A5: Ho m e g a r d e n l o s t a n d n o t y e t r e c o v e r e d ...... 54 Fi g u r e A6: Re c e i v e d a g r i c u l t u r a l i n p u t s ...... 55 Fi g u r e LS1: Po u l t r y l o s t a n d n o t y e t r e p l a c e d ...... 56 Fi g u r e LS2: Re a s o n s f o r l o s s o f p o u l t r y ...... 57 Fi g u r e LS3: Re a s o n f o r l o s s o f p i g s ...... 57 Fi g u r e LS4: Pi g s l o s t a n d n o t y e t r e p l a c e d ...... 58 Fi g u r e LS5: Bu ffa l o a n d c a t t l e l o s t a n d n o t y e t r e p l a c e d ...... 59 Fi g u r e LS6: Re a s o n s f o r l o s s o f b u ffa l o a n d c a t t l e ...... 60 Fi g u r e FI1: Bo a t s l o s t a n d n o t y e t r e p l a c e d ...... 61 Fi g u r e FI2: Re a s o n s f o r l o s s o f b o a t s ...... 62 Fi g u r e FI3: Re a s o n s f o r l o s s o f f i s h i n g n e t s ...... 62 Fi g u r e FI4: Fi s h i n g n e t s l o s t a n d n o t y e t r e p l a c e d ...... 63 Fi g u r e V1: Es t i m a t e s o f t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f h o u s e h o l d s i n e a c h c a t e g o r y o f v u l n e r a b i l i t y 64 Fi g u r e WE1: We a l t h i n d e x ...... 66 Fi g u r e R1: Lo c a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s w o r k i n g i n communities ...... 67
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I vi
Li s t of Ab b re v i a t i o n s a n d Ac ro n y m s
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations C.I. Confidence Interval DALA Damage and Loss Assessment FCS Food Consumption Score HCW Health Care Worker INGO International non-Governmental Organisation IASC Inter-Agency Standing Committee LQAS Lot Quality Assurance Sampling MIMU Myanmar Information Management Unit MUAC Mid-Upper Arm Circumference NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs PCA Principal Components Analysis PHC Primary Health Care PONJA Post-Nargis Joint Assessment PONREPP Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan PTA Parent Teacher Association SAG Periodic Review Strategic Advisory Group SIM Social Impact Monitoring TAG Periodic Review Technical Advisory Group TCG Tripartite Core Group VTA Village Tract Assessment WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene WHO World Health Organization UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
Co n v er s i o n s 1,000 Kyat = 0.91 USD (exchange rate at the ASEAN-UN International Pledging Conference, Yangon, 25 May 2008)
1 Pyi = 2.13 kgs of milled rice (approximately 2 litres) Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 1
Ex e c u t i v e Su m m ar y
When Cyclone Nargis struck the coast of Myanmar in May 2008, an estimated 140,000 lives were lost. Similar to other recent natural disasters, such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia, the sheer scale of this disaster requires ongoing relief and recovery assistance for the affected population. Half a year after the disaster and the provision of aid and assistance, the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) commenced a series of periodic reviews to assess the needs of people and communities, and progress towards recovery. This is the first report of this effort.
Over the next nine months, the Periodic Review process will seek to inform humanitarian assistance strategies and programme change to benefit the people affected by Cyclone Nargis. By providing relevant data on the situation and needs of the affected people, coordination may be strengthened across sectors and between international and domestic actors. The comprehensive geographic and multi-sectoral coverage of the Review pioneers a new approach to post-disaster needs assessment and monitoring.
This report does not seek to evaluate in detail the success of the assistance provided or to make policy recommendations. Instead, it presents findings from analysis of data collected from 2,376 households in 108 communities spread across the area of Myanmar worst affected by Cyclone Nargis.
The findings of the first round of the Periodic Review process are presented here by sector and take into account cross-cutting issues. They provide a snapshot of the situation for communities living in the Cyclone-affected areas. It is important to note that the areas covered by the survey were affected to different degrees and that the situation of the surveyed communities was not homogenous prior to the Cyclone. Subsequently, it is not possible to attribute all of the results presented in this report directly or exclusively to the Cyclone, or to subsequent relief efforts.
Indicators for the health sector reveal good results for access to health care and outreach into communities. However, the findings raise concerns around the functioning of the health system as only one third of households reported that medicine was available at local clinics all or most of the time. In addition, the prevalence of fever and diarrhoea in communities suggests problems with infectious disease in the centre and west of the Delta and north of Yangon.
Findings for nutrition and food security are interlinked with health outcomes, as nutrition reflects the health status and food availability for a population. The proportion of children suffering undernurtition is highest around Yangon (over 15 per cent) and may represent a chronic problem, rather than being directly related to the impact of Cyclone Nargis. By contrast, inappropriate treatment of diarrhoea is most common in the Delta.
Food aid had reached every surveyed community along the path of the Cyclone. However, food insecurity persists in the southwest and around Yangon and food consumption is poor across the west. Again, this may reflect chronic problems as well as the impact of Cyclone Nargis.
Across the survey area, the majority of households are either using an improved (safe) water source, or treating their water effectively, with the exception of a small area south of Yangon. The percentage of households using chlorine tablets is low, less than three per cent. With the end of the Monsoon season, households are using less rainwater (down from 30 per cent reported in the Village Tract Assessment (VTA) in June to around 20 per cent) and more surface water, from ponds for example. There is concern that increased dependence on surface water and the salination of ponds caused by the storm surge may result in water shortages as the dry season continues. By contrast, the use of unsanitary practices almost halved since the VTA.
High proportions of households remain in inadequate shelters that are often overcrowded and offer little protection from the heat and rain. In only around 10 per cent of communities surveyed did every household report adequate living conditions, the same or better than before the Cyclone. Of particular concern is the very high proportion of households using plastic or canvas for their roofs or walls in the area of the southern delta where the storm surge struck. These are temporary repairs, not rebuilding, and occur in around 30 per cent of villages surveyed. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 2
Education is widely available and the main barrier to school attendance are the costs associated, such as for the school uniform. For older children, needing to work, either to earn income or as a carer in the home, is also an important factor. There is good awareness of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), which were mobilised to assist with reconstruction of schools, and areas of low PTA participation are correlated with areas where school attendance rates are lower.
Livelihoods have been disrupted across the affected area as fishing, livestock rearing and agriculture all suffered heavy losses. Along the path of the Cyclone, communities are a long way from fully recovering these losses, for example in poultry stocks, arable land, buffalo for ploughing, fishing nets and boats. Recovery will take several years both because of the types of loss suffered (salinated land and fallen trees) and the breadth of need (the very large numbers of livestock and fishing equipment that need to be replaced). Social structures around employment and access to credit have been disrupted with both lack of access and more unfavourable terms observed. People also lost assets and savings, which has reduced their capacity for self recovery and increased indebtedness.
While the assistance that has been delivered is making an impact, the depth and geographic coverage is not yet sufficient to meet all needs. In particular, assistance is not reaching the western delta and some of the larger towns and periurban areas as effectively as the eastern delta. The persistence of need, even in areas that received substantial aid, means that the depth of that assistance is not yet sufficient and greater efforts are required if these needs are to be met.
Many of the issues facing the Cyclone-affected communities are interlinked and cut across sectors. These include: the interaction of the health system, nutrition, food, shelter and sanitation for improved health outcomes; and the need for recovery in livelihoods to improve food security. Others, such as increasing concerns over water availability through the dry season, will have knock on effects in other sectors.
The needs of people vary between and within communities according to the nature and extent of the damage caused by the Cyclone and the vulnerability of members of communities. Meeting the needs of those traditionally considered most vulnerable in a sustainable way requires rehabilitating the communities in which they live.
In order to effectively address the complexity in interdependence of issues identified in this report, greater coordination and horizontal integration of programming may be required. As peoples’ immediate needs are met, and the shift from relief to recovery begins, it is important that assistance to communities addresses the diversity of needs in the community and works with existing social and economic structures.
The diversity of needs between and within communities means that ongoing relief as well as recovery assistance is required. Review and reform of programme modalities may be required to meet these evolving needs. Some people remain dependent on emergency assistance to meet their daily needs. While for others, what is required is an opportunity to re-establish and secure their livelihoods.
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 3
Se c t i o n 1:
In t rod u c t i o n
On 2 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck the coast of Myanmar with devastating effects for the Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions.1 Of the 7.35 million people living in affected Townships, it is estimated that 2.4 million people were severely affected by the Cyclone. The scale of the disaster means that continued early recovery assistance is needed for the affected population.
The Periodic Review process seeks to inform humanitarian assistance strategies for the people affected by Cyclone Nargis by providing relevant data on their current situation and needs. The comprehensive geographic and multi-sectoral coverage of the Review pioneers a new approach to post-disaster needs assessment and monitoring. It is hoped that through this strengthened coordination of the process across sectors and between international and domestic actors, that the Cyclone-affected population can be assisted more effectively.
1.1 im p a c t of Cy c l o n e Nar g i s Figure 1: Myanmar Cyclone Nargis made landfall at the western edge of the Ayeyarwady delta about 250km from Yangon, most populous Bhutan city in Myanmar (Figure 1). Over 2 and 3 May, the Cyclone China moved inland across the delta towards Yangon. It caused a India devastating loss of life with an estimated 140,000 people Bangladesh killed or missing.2 The lives and livelihoods of survivors were also severely disrupted with up to 800,000 people displaced, Myanmar 450,000 houses destroyed and substantial losses of food stocks, Laos equipment, infrastructure and paddy.
The destruction caused by Cyclone Nargis resulted from two Thailand main elements: high-speed winds of up to 250 kilometres per hour (135 knots); and a 3.6 meter (12 foot) storm surge. The type of damage caused by the cyclonic winds and the damage caused by the storm surge were different. Subsequently the relief and recovery needs are different for the areas affected by both the storm surge and high winds, and those that suffered principally from high winds (Figure 2).
Half a year later, the resilience and resourcefulness of people affected by Cyclone Nargis and the accommodating attitudes of communities hosting displaced people are striking. However, many people still require humanitarian assistance efforts to meet their basic needs.
1.2 per i od i c Re v i ew p ro c e s s The Periodic Review is a process of assessment, monitoring and reporting on the needs of people and communities affected by Cyclone Nargis. It is being conducted by the Tripartite Core Group (TCG). The goal of the Review is to generate data that can be used to target assistance, inform future assessments and thereby help alleviate suffering and accelerate the process of recovery.
1 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 1. 2 MIMU (31 October 2008) Integrated Monitoring Matrix, source: Government of the Union of Myanmar. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 4
Th e Tr i p ar t i t e Core Gro u p (TCG) The TCG was formed on 31 May 2008 in response to the needs of people affected by Cyclone Nargis. The TCG brings together the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Government of the Union of Myanmar and the United Nations (UN). It is an ASEAN-led mechanism that seeks to cultivate the trust, confidence and understanding necessary to facilitate relief and recovery efforts in Myanmar.
The TCG comprises nine members, three each from ASEAN, the Government of the Union of Myanmar and the UN. Deputy Foreign Minister U Kyaw Thu from the Government of the Union of Myanmar is the Chair of the TCG.
Figure 2: Cyclone Path and Tidal Surge affected area
Bago West Division Thayarwady Rakhine State Bago East Division Thandwe Hinthada Bago B a y Kayin State o f Hpa-An B e n g a l Yangon Division Bago
Ayeyarwady Division Yangon (North) Thaton Pathein Maubin Yangon (East)
Hpa On Pathein Yangon Yangon (South) Yangon (West) Myaungmya Mawlamyine
Pyapon Mawlamyine
Gulf of Mottama Mon State (Gulf of Martaban
The Periodic Review process started in September 2008 and will run until August 2009 with three rounds of assessments and reporting planned. This document reports on the first round of assessments carried out from 29 October to 19 November 2008. The next round of assessments is expected in March 2009 and the final round in July 2009.
By monitoring selected indicators at regular intervals, the Periodic Review assessments will produce a series of snapshots of the situation of people and communities that were affected by Cyclone Nargis. Each of these assessments aims to show the needs at that point in time, and as part of a series will also show the process of recovery over time. The provision of this data seeks to assist and inform strategic decision making for relevant stakeholders.
Inclusiveness, cooperation and consultation have been, and will continue to be, fundamental to the Periodic Review process. At each step in the process for the first Review, from selecting indicators and survey design to setting thresholds and analysis of data, there was an extensive process of consultation. This included: the Government of the Union of Myanmar and the international humanitarian community through the Cluster approach.
The Periodic Review process builds on the Village Tract Assessment (VTA) that was conducted in June 2008 and formed part of the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) published in July 2008. The Reviews will cover the same geographic area as the VTA and the design used for the first round of assessments drew upon lessons learnt in the VTA to optimise and simplify the design while making the process more consultative. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 5
The Periodic Review’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) were responsible for overall guidance of the Periodic Review process. Each of the TCG’s three components is represented in the TAG and the SAG.
The aim of the TAG is to provide technical advice and background information to the Periodic Review Team on methodological matters relevant to the Periodic Review process. The Group consults and advises on the scientific aspects and applications of the Periodic Review.
The aim of the SAG is to provide strategic advice to the Periodic Review Team. The SAG provides this guidance in order to ensure that the Periodic Review is implemented successfully by: mobilising necessary resources; ensuring that progress towards the goal of the Review is effectively communicated to all stakeholders; and ascertaining that the combined expertise and resources of all stakeholder groups are utilised.
The members of the TAG and SAG represent the members of the TCG, including local and international NGOs. The TAG met weekly and the SAG met when required or requested by the TAG. The SAG is mandated with final editorial control of the first report of theeriodic P Review.
1.3 Ot h er p o s t -Nar g i s re p or t s This report on the first Periodic Review assessment is part of a second generation of post-Nargis reports being prepared by the TCG. The results from the first assessments, the VTA and the Damage and Loss Assessment (DALA), were contained in the PONJA, which was published two months after Cyclone Nargis.
The PONJA included guiding principles for the humanitarian and recovery strategy and a commitment to put in place a mechanism for a system for monitoring “progress in meeting humanitarian and recovery needs”.3 In August 2008, the Periodic Review process was established by the TCG to fulfil this purpose.
The TCG is preparing two other reports simultaneously with this first Periodic Review report. The Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP) is a multi-sectoral indicative plan for medium-term recovery. The report on Social Impact Monitoring (SIM) uses qualitative research to examine the impacts of Cyclone Nargis in 40 villages in eight Townships. It focuses on three areas: the effectiveness of aid; the impacts of the Cyclone (and the aid effort) on the socio-economic structure of village life; and impacts on social relations and cohesion.
1.4 me t h odo l o g y of t h e Re v i ew The Periodic Review process aims to monitor indicators over time and space on the status of the affected people of Myanmar. The purpose is to inform strategic decision making for implementing agencies. The first round of the Periodic Review process aims to build on the VTA conducted in June 2008, surveying the same geographic area using a multi-sectoral approach.
The first round of the Review improved on the methodology of the VTA in two important ways. Firstly, the methods were improved by reforming the questions and the sampling method, trying where possible, to maintain an ability to compare results with the VTA. Secondly, a qualitative ‘plug- in’ assessment was included allowing a greater depth of information to be collected about vulnerable people in cyclone-affected areas, using the quantitative survey to direct follow-up intervention.
The Periodic Review will make a series of assessments between November 2008 and June 2009. These assessments will cover the same geographic areas within the Delta, but not necessarily collect data in the same communities each time. Furthermore, the methodology will be reviewed with each round of assessment to improve the quality of data and to reflect the stages of response moving from relief to early and mid-term recovery.
The sampling area, defined as the area worst affected by the Cyclone, was divided into non-overlapping,
3 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 35. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 6 equal areas using a hexagonal lattice (Figure 3 below). This sample design is appropriate because it is highly unlikely that the needs assessed will be evenly spatially distributed. Using an even spatial sample allows needs to be mapped across the survey area.
Figure 3: Periodic Review survey area with hexagon overlay
Bago West Division Thayarwady Rakhine State Bago East Division Thandwe Hinthada Bago B a y Kayin State o f Hpa-An B e n g a l Yangon Division Bago
Ayeyarwady Division Yangon (North) Thaton Pathein Maubin Yangon (East)
Hpa On Pathein Yangon Yangon (South) Yangon (West) Myaungmya Mawlamyine
Pyapon Mawlamyine
Gulf of Mottama Mon State (Gulf of Martaban)
Figure 4: Satellite image with hexagon overlay
The community nearest to the centre of the hexagon was selected using post-Cyclone satellite imagery (Figure 4). Using this method, 113 communities were selected and 22 households were selected within the communities for assessment using representative sampling methods that involved rapid mapping of villages with local community members.4
A multi-sectoral questionnaire and indicator set was used covering areas such as health, agriculture, livelihoods and education. The questionnaire was carried out at the household level.
Th e Pl u g -i n The qualitative assessment, or ‘plug-in’, used information from the large-scale quantitative household survey to identify households that fell into pre-defined categories of vulnerability. The purpose of the qualitative study was to improve understanding of how formal institutions and social networks respond to an unanticipated natural calamity. For each vulnerable household, closed and open- ended interview protocols for assessing vulnerability were applied. The Plug-in was conducted from 5 to 19 November 2008. While the Periodic Review’s plug-in and the SIM are both qualitative assessments, they seek to explore different issues.
Wea l t h In de x
4 Where a community consisted of less than 22 households, all households in that community were assessed. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 7
The wealth index presented in this report was created using the asset scoring method used in Demographic and Health Surveys and UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. This method assigns a relative socio-economic position to households. Wealth indices created using this method allow comparisons to be made between households in the population for which an index was developed, but do not allow comparisons to be made between different populations. The wealth index identifies areas of relative wealth and poverty across the survey area. More information on the method used to develop the wealth index can be found in the methodological annex.
1.5 Da t a i n t er p re t a t i o n a n d u s a g e The data in this report is presented using maps that show the spatial distribution of indicator proportions over the survey area. Each is accompanied by a histogram that shows the distribution of estimates of indicator proportions in each of the sampled communities. Additional information is presented in tables for some indicators. Data from the qualitative plug-in is integrated into the text and presented in text boxes.
Presenting the data in map form allows the Periodic Review to identify areas of highest need and can be used to inform strategic programming decisions. The first round of the Periodic Review may also be seen as providing a baseline against which progress will be measured by examining changes in indicators between survey rounds.
Wh a t i s a n i n d i c a t or ? For the purposes of the Periodic Review, an ‘indicator’ is a characteristic that varies across different people, households and communities being surveyed and which can be measured. Measurements may be collected by questionnaire survey or using simple and rapid techniques such as observation or physical measurement by surveyors.
Indicators are usually answers to simple yes / no questions. An indicator may be the answer to a single question or it may be derived from a set of answers to questions that are combined using logic of varying complexity. For example, the definition of the indicator for ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ used in the Periodic Review is derived from a combination of four variables: the age of the child; they are breastfed; they take solid or puréed food; and they take fluids other than breast milk.
These are combined using the following logic:
If the child is: aged six months or younger; the child is breastfed; and the child does not take solid or puréed food; and does not take fluids other than breast milk - then the child is ‘exclusively breastfed’.
The variables and logic used to create a definition of an indicator are called the criterion ofthe indicator. This is the characteristic that the indicator is intended to reflect. In some contexts, indicators may be associated with a standard that specifies a threshold.
For some indicators, the Periodic Review can be seen as a needs assessment, and for others a performance assessment.
Wh a t i s s p a t i a l s a m p l i n g ? The use of a grid sample means that communities surveyed are roughly the same distance apart. Spatial sampling was used because the assumption that the results for an indicator would be similar across the entire survey area (spatial homogeneity) was considered to be an unrealistic representation of the true situation.
The impact of a cyclone varies dramatically depending on the strength and duration of the storm in a particular location, whether areas were affected by high winds and/or the storm surge, as well as the geography of the area exposed to the storm. For the same reason, spatial sampling was used for the VTA. Spatial heterogeneity is also the reason why summary statistics for the entire survey sample are not presented, as these are often misleading when there is considerable spatial diversity.
The Periodic Review used a nearly even first-stage spatial sample to select communities and a Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 8 representative second-stage sample to select households within the selected communities. This approach differs from population-based approaches that seek to give each person in the survey area an equal chance of being surveyed and thereby bias the distribution towards towns and more populated areas. By using a spatial sampling technique and a representative second stage sample, analysis across geographic areas can be used and presented in maps.
How do I read t h e m a p s a n d h i s t o g ra m s ? Each indicator is mapped across the survey area and is presented in a figure that includes a map and a histogram. The colours on the map represent estimated proportions of households or, in some cases, individuals meeting the criteria associated with a given indicator which is given in the title of the map and explained in the associated text. The colours used on these maps are consistent with red always representing the poorest result and dark green representing the best result. A gradation of orange, light green and yellow represent values between the extremes of the collected data.
The legend at the bottom right of the map shows the highest and lowest of the indicator ranges. These are most often 0 and 100 per cent, but the range is restricted for some indicators (e.g. the incidence of global acute under nutrition).
Each map is accompanied by a histogram which shows the distribution of the estimated proportions of households or, in some cases, individuals meeting the criterion associated with a given indicator in each of the sampled communities. Additional graphs are provided for some indicators (e.g. reasons for non-attendance at school). These graphs present supplementary information that can assist in interpretation of the data.
Wh a t i s i n t h e t e x t b o x e s ? The text boxes contain stories collected from the qualitative interviews with vulnerable households. They were selected to illustrate how the situation presented using maps and graphs is being experienced by individuals in the affected communities.
For each extract used, the full text from which it was selected is available in the Qualitative Results annex. The names of people and places given in this report are fictional and were changed to protect the anonymity of the interviewees.
1.6 ne x t s t e p s Two additional rounds of the Periodic Review are planned. In order to monitor changes in indicator values over time, future rounds will concentrate on collecting data needed to create the indicators that proved most useful in the first round of the Periodic Review. Additional work will be required on further definition of the indicator set.
The qualitative data presented in this report was collected using an epidemiological case-series approach in which households sampled in the core Periodic Review survey that met pre-defined case- definitions (e.g. female-headed households with young children) were selected to be revisited for in-depth interviews. This plug-in approach is general in the sense that it could be used to investigate a wide range of phenomena and may be repeated in future rounds of the Periodic Review.
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 9
Se c t i o n 2:
Fi n d i n g s
This section presents the findings of both the quantitative and qualitative research conducted for the first round of the Periodic Review. Information from the quantitative survey is presented in the maps and histograms while extracts from the quantitative research are presented in text boxes. Supplementary text draws on both qualitative and quantitative information, and is informed by consultation with the Clusters.
Th aw t ar Kh i n ’s s t or y … “We want to rebuild our home. The tent we built is not in good shape. The whole family is living in it and it may collapse. There’s a very big puddle with a bad smel nearby that makes the tent unliveable. I’m looking forward to the day when my children can attend school. Right now food is our greatest need.”
The findings are presented by sector. Taken together, they provide a snapshot of the situation for communities living in the areas worst affected by Cyclone Nargis. The principal focus of the findings is a needs assessment. The receipt of relief and steps towards recovery since May 2008 are also considered to some extent.
It is important to note that many of the challenges facing the Cyclone-affected population are interlinked and cut across sectors. For example, the loss of boats directly affected the ability of people who caught fish before the Cyclone to earn a living. However, without boats to travel on the networks of rivers and canals that link the communities of the Delta, the mobility of the entire population was reduced. This made it more difficult to reach education and health services or to trade goods at markets. Similarly, the lack of boats makes delivering aid and assistance more difficult. Therefore it is recommended that results be considered in an integrated manner, drawing linkages between sectors.
Where possible, results from the VTA are used to inform the analysis. However, having drawn on the experience of the VTA to improve the methodology used for the Periodic Review, direct comparisons are not always possible.
Some indicators, such as those relating to aspects of Fi g u re 5: Qu a n t i t a t i v e s a m p l e s i z e maternal and child health, have not been collected Number of Communities 108 for the Periodic Review. This is because a general household survey may yield very small sample sizes Number of Households 2,376 for indicators that apply to a small proportion of the Household population 13,546 population being surveyed. Such small sample sizes Number of Children 4,862 give rise to very imprecise estimates at the community < 6 months 170 level that can be very difficult to map. For example, in 108 communities analysed there were only 170 6 months to 5 years 1,456 children, on average just one or two children per > 5 years to 15 years 3,236 community. Figure 5 shows the sample size from the quantitative survey. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 10
2.1 hea l t h Three components reflecting the health situation in the Cyclone-affected area are covered in this chapter: the functioning of the existing health system; disease burden in the community; and receipt of relief items. In addition, linkages are drawn with nutrition and WASH. The VTA reported that close to 75 per cent of health facilities in the survey area were damaged. At the same time, an additional burden of health problems could be expected in the community as a result of the Cyclone, in particular, gastro-intestinal and mental health problems..1
In a well functioning health sector, people have access to facilities and staff, health services are available from those facilities and staff, and those services are utilised. The indicators used here seek to give an overview of these characteristics.
Figure H1: PHC facilities are within 1 hour travel time Time to nearest PHC is <= 60 minutes
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
For access to health care indicators, high proportions with good access to health care is the desired outcome and shown in green on the Maps.
The percentage of households in surveyed communities that reported travel times to Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities being within one hour ranged from 0 to 100 per cent.
In more than half of the communities surveyed, almost all households said that their travel time was less than one hour (the highest bar in the histogram and shown in green and yellow on Figure H1). Communities in the southern and central parts of the Delta, such as Myaungmya District, and Bogale and Ngapudaw Townships, reported the lowest access to PHC as measured by travel times (shown in red on Figure H1).
1 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, pp 7-8. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 11
Figure H2: Waiting time at PHC facilities is less than 1 hour
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 63% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
When people arrive at PHC facilities, the waiting times are usually less than one hour.
The percentage of households reporting waiting times of less than one hour ranges from 100 per cent to a low of around 60 per cent in the far south of the Delta and parts of greater Yangon (shown in red on Figure H2). In more than 80 per cent of communities, almost all households reported waiting time of less than one hour (the highest bar in the histogram and shown in green and yellow on Figure H2).
Th aw t ar Kh i n ’s s t or y … Currently, Thawtar Khin’s mother is sick and the family does not have enough money to send her to a clinic. There is no doctor in the village and the nearest one is very far away, so they cannot send her. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 12
Figure H3: Health workers in the community
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Community Health Care Workers (HCWs) are particularly important in rural and remote settings, where accessing health facilities can be costly in terms of time and transport costs. These considerations are less important in urban settings which may explain the concentration of low values (shown in red on Figure H3) around Yangon.
The percentage of households reporting the presence of a HCW in their communities ranged from 0 to 100 per cent. As seen for previous indicators, the most common response was in the 90 to 100 per cent bracket (the highest bar in the histogram and shown in green and yellow on Figure H3).
Together, H1, H2 and H3 give a picture of the level of access to health facilities and HCWs. The areas that have the least access across the three indicators are concentrated in the Delta south of Labutta and Bogale. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 13
Figure H4: Coverage of Measles vaccination
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 44% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The coverage of Measles vaccination directly represents the protection of a population from Measles, and is also a proxy indicator of outreach by the health system into communities and the coverage of other vaccines.
The range of coverage is from 44 to 100 per cent. The benefits of ‘herd immunity’2 begin at around 80 per cent coverage (the two tallest bars of the histogram and shown in green and yellow on Figure H4). Less than 20 of the communities surveyed had coverage below 80 per cent, concentrated in Bogale Township (shown in red on the Map).
2 Herd immunity is the resistance of a group or community to invasion by the spread of an infectious agent. It results from the lower probability of the agent being transmitted from an infected person to a susceptible person when a high proportion of people are immunised. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 14
Figure H5: Medicine available at PHC facilities all or most of the time
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Availability of medicines is a proxy indicator for the functioning of the health system.
In only one third of communities did all households report that medicine was available all or most of the time at Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities (shown in green on Figure H5). On the histogram, the distribution of communities is more spread out than for previous maps where results were concentrated on the far right.
There is also a discontinuity between access to health care and availability of medicine. The greatest issues with availability occur in the central part of the Delta north of Bogale around Mawlamyinegyun (shown in red on Figure H5) where access to health care, as indicated on Figures H1 and H2, is relatively good. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 15
Figure H6: Prevalence of diarrhoea
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: Labutta Bogale 55%
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
For indicators of disease prevalence, a low prevalence is the desired result and is shown in green on the maps.
The prevalence of diarrhoea in children reported by 14 day maternal recall (mothers’ recollection of the 14 day period preceding the household survey) shows significant spatial variation.
The most common results are between 0 to 20 per cent (shown in green and yellow on Figure H6), with around one in four communities having a prevalence of diarrhoea in children of more than 20 per cent. The highest percentage of households in a community reporting diarrhoea was up to 55 per cent. Prevalence of more than 40 per cent was found in part of Ngapudaw Township and Myaungmya District (areas shown in red on Figure H6).
Of particular concern is part of Ngapudaw Township (west of Labutta) where there is also a high proportion of households with severe food insecurity (see Figure F3). The combination of food insecurity and diarrhoea predisposes communities to increased rates of undernutrition. The same area appears to have relatively poor sanitation practices (see W6 and W7) that may also contribute to the prevalence of diarrhoeal disease. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 16
Figure H7: Prevalence of fever
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 80% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The distribution of the prevalence of fever by 14 day maternal recall, which is a non-specific indicator of infectious disease, is clustered within the high prevalence areas. This clustering is consistent with infectious phenomenon.
As reported by maternal recall during the 14 day period preceding the household survey, the prevalence of fever ranges from 0 to 80 per cent. The highest prevalence is in the central delta region (shown in red on Figure H7).
Taken together, the indicators of fever, diarrhoea (Figure H6) and undernutrition (Figure N2) suggest a significant infectious disease issue in the central and western areas of the Delta, mainly in Myaungmya District, and north of Yangon. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 17
Figure H8: Received medical assistance since Cyclone Nargis
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 68% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
In around one third of communities, at least one of the households surveyed had received medical assistance since Cyclone Nargis (green and yellow on Figure H8). This is a simple indicator of reach, not the depth of coverage or of provision being sustained over time.
The assistance given is geographically concentrated in the areas along the path of the Cyclone, particularly around Bogale where more than half the households had received medical relief assistance (shown in dark green on the Map). This includes northern Bogale Township and parts of Mawlamyinegyun and Pyapon Townships).
Lower rates of assistance may reflect less need in some cases (particularly in the less affected areas to the north), less access in others (such as Ngapudaw and Labutta Townships) or also a combination of the two. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 18
2.2 nu t r i t i o n Nutrition reflects both the health status and food availability for a population. Following the Cyclone, the PONJA reported that people’s diets had become more limited and that the population faced increased risk of malnutrition.3 Three indicators of nutrition are discussed here: the proportion of children under six months exclusively breastfeeding; the proportion of children from six months to five years suffering from global acute under nutrition; and appropriate treatment of diarrhoea.
Figure N1: Global acute under nutrition
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 30% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of households where children aged 6 months to 5 years (or between 65 cms and 110 cms in height) were suffering global acute under nutrition was measured by Mid- Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) of less than 125mm or the presence of bilateral pitting oedema.4
In most communities the proportion of households where children are undernourished is less than 10 per cent (the highest bar on the histogram and shown the green on Figure N1). However, in some communities the proportion was over 15 per cent (shown in orange and red on Figure N1). This is principally in the periurban areas of greater Yangon and may reflect a chronic problem rather than being directly related to the Cyclone.
Of the 170 children under 6 months included in the survey, 86 were exclusively breast fed. This is estimated at 50.6 per cent (95% C.I. 43.1% - 58.0%), this is higher than expected and is not mapped due to the small sample size.
3 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 7. 4 Bilateral pitting Oedema is an indicator of malnutrition. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 19
Th aw t ar Kh i n ’s s t or y … When the Cyclone destroyed the food stock in their house, they could not afford to buy food. Since Thawtar Khin is also breast feeding her two year old daughter, she has lost a lot of weight.
Figure N2: Inappropriate treatment of diarrhoea
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 50% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Diarrhoea that is treated inappropriately can result in undernutrition and death. Appropriate treatment is principally maintaining liquids and oral rehydration.
The proportion of households using inappropriate treatment of diarrhoea was low in two out of three communities (shown in green and yellow on Figure N2 and represented by the highest bar on the histogram). In some communities between Labutta and Mawlamyinegyun, the rate of inappropriate treatment rose to over half of the households surveyed (red on Figure N2). Undernutrition in this area was around 15 per cent (Figure N1). Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 20
2.3 Food Cyclone Nargis damaged and destroyed food stocks, crops, livestock and equipment. When the VTA was conducted in early June, 55 per cent of the households reported having food stocks for only one day or less.5 Half a year later, results of the Periodic Review assessment indicate that food aid had reached every surveyed community along the path of the Cyclone and indicators of food vulnerability show a clear impact in the areas where food aid efforts were concentrated.
U Hl a Soe ’s s t or y … “We find it difficult just to find food each day, how can we repair our house orsupportour children?”
Food insecurity persists in some areas. In some of the communities that are food secure, this may be due to the receipt of food aid, rather than a recovery of production or purchasing power of communities. The problems facing the recovery of food production (including seed quality and harvest) and purchasing power may take some years to address. Food insecurity around Yangon and Pathein may be a result of chronic problems, rather than resulting directly from Cyclone Nargis.
5 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 7. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 21
Figure F1: Proportion of households with poor food consumption
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 73% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Areas with poor food consumption are shown in red, and good results are shown in green. For the histogram, low scores (bars to the far left) correspond to the green areas on the Map.
A high proportion of households within a community with a poor Food Consumption Score (FCS) (below a threshold of 42) indicates food access, availability and consumption problems.6
In more than half of the communities surveyed, less than 10 per cent of households had a poor FCS (shown in green on the Map and the highest bar on the histogram). The households with poor consumption were concentrated in Pathein District and across to Myaungmya Township (the western part of the survey area) and southeast of Yangon (shown in red and orange on Figure F1).
6 The FCS was based on seven-day recall of the type and frequency of food consumed. The threshold was set at 42 due to the high intake of oil and fruit in the population. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 22
Figure F2: Moderate or Severe food insecurity
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 68% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of households in a community that are facing moderate or severe food insecurity ranges from 0 to 68 per cent (from green to red on Figure F2).
The proportion of households that are food insecure was highest in the southwest of the Delta and from Yangon south to Kungyangon with patches of food insecurity through the southern part of the Delta. However, the most severely food insecure households (Figure F3) were concentrated in the far southwest of Ngapudaw. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 23
Figure F3: Severe food insecurity
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 50% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The highest proportion of households in surveyed communities with severe food insecurity was 50 per cent in the far southwest of Ngapudaw (shown in red on Figure F3).
In almost two thirds of the surveyed communities, a very low proportion of households were severely food insecure (areas shown in green and yellow on the Map and represented by the tallest bar on the histogram).
Some of the people interviewed for the qualitative survey expressed anxiety over food stocks, not knowing whether it was better to risk having rice taken by other hungry villagers while they looked for work outside the home, or to stay at home and protect a dwindling food supply in order to meet the immediate needs of their children. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 24
Figure F4: Received food assistance since Cyclone Nargis
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Communities where 90 to 100 per cent of households had received some form of food assistance since Cyclone Nargis are shown in green on Figure F4. All communities along the path of the Cyclone, with the exception of an area south of Yangon, had received food aid.
This is a simple representation of reach and does not indicate if the assistance was sufficient or sustained over time. However, areas that are shown as food secure and having good food consumption around Bogale and Pyapon (Figures F1, F2 and F3) are correlated with areas where food aid is being provided. Figure F4 also shows the food aid had reached the southwest where there was a high proportion of food insecure households (shown in Figure F3).
Some interviewees from the qualitative plug-in identified problems with food relief ranging from intermittent, irregular, and sporadic distribution of food aid to no food aid being provided. This may in part be due to the remoteness of many communities in the Delta region. In some instances, the staged changes in the classification of phases of response from disaster to recovery reduced available food relief. For example, one woman who was the head of her household, stated that the reduction of food aid from 8 Pyi (17.0 kgs) to 3 Pyi (6.4 kgs) of rice meant that hunger is now more of an issue than in the immediate post-Nargis period.
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 25
2.4 Wa t er s u p p l y , Sa n i t a t i o n a n d Hy g i e n e (WASH)
The quantitative indicators used to assess WASH were taken from the WHO/UNICEF Core Questions on Drinking-Water and Sanitation.7 Closely linked to health outcomes, the WASH indicators in this chapter cover: the safety of drinking water; sanitary disposal of human waste; and hygienic hand washing practices. Sanitation improved since the VTA, but with the end of the monsoon and beginning of the dry season, there is less rain water available for drinking. Combined with salination of ponds, there are concerns about possible water shortages.
Figure W1: Use of improved drinking water sources
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
An ‘improved’ water source is one that provides safer water. The proportion of households using improved drinking water sources ranges from 0 to 100 per cent across the survey area. This diversity is reflected in the distribution shown in the histogram.
In the south of the Delta, where rain water collection tanks are common, there was a very high proportion of households using improved water sources (shown in green on Figure W1). The proportion of households using improved water sources was very low in the central north of the survey area, around Maubin District (red and orange on the Map).
During the rainy season, rain water harvesting provided 30 per cent of the water supply for communities affected by Cyclone Nargis.8 However, with the beginning of the dry season (November to April), there was an increased dependence on other water sources including surface water. Figure W2 shows the drinking water sources for 2,356 households.
7 WHO and UNICEF (2006), Core Questions on Drinking-Water and Sanitation for Household Surveys, WHO Press. 8 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 16. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 26
Figure W2: Drinking water sources
Bottled water Cart with tank / drum Protected spring Unprotected spring Other Piped water supply Tubewell / borehole Unprotected well Protected well Rainwater collection Surface water
010203040
Percentage of households
There was extensive salt contamination of water reservoirs from the storm surge as far north and east as the Yangon area, which may strain water availability across and within communities over the dry season.
Several qualitative interviews revealed concerns about dwindling water supplies when the monsoon end. In areas of the Delta that were hardest hit by the Cyclone, interviews revealed patterns of migration that are placing increased demands on existing reserves of potable water. The cost of moving and purchasing water is a problem for poorer, more vulnerable households.
Th aw t ar Kh i n ’s s t or y … Before the Cyclone, the family got water and sold it to other people. Sometimes they made money by doing odd jobs. After the Cyclone, no one bought their water anymore and there were no offers for any odd jobs. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 27
Figure W3: Use of an adequate water treatment method
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
In areas where use of improved water sources is not common, the proportion of households using adequate water treatment methods was high (shown in green on Figure W3), particularly through Maubin District. However, south of Yangon the proportion of households using either improved water sources or adequate water treatment was low (shown is red on Figures W1 and W3).
Multiple methods of water treatment (shown in Figure W4) are normally used with 2,356 households reporting 5,139 methods. This means that water is treated using, on average, two to three methods before drinking. However, less than 5 per cent of households used bleach or chlorine tablets. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 28
Figure W4: Methods of water treatment
Solar disinfection
Other methods
Add bleach / chlorine
Ceramic / sand filter
Stand and settle
Boil
Strain through cloth
0510 15 20 25 30
Percentage of households (multiple methods allowed)
The most common sanitation method used was a pit latrine, used by over 40 per cent, followed by no sanitation facility with less than 15 per cent (Figure W5 below). This is an improvement from the situation in June when 40 per cent of the population was using unsanitary practices.9 1,828 toilet facilities were reported by 2,354 households with a total survey population of 12,941 people (around 7 people per toilet facility).
Figure W5: Sanitation method
Composting toilet Flushed elsewhere Bucket Other Flushed to piped sewer VIP latrine Flushed to septic tank Hanging latrine No facility Pit latrine
010203040
Percentage of households
9 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 17. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 29
Figure W6: Use of improved sanitation facility
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of households using improved (safe) sanitation ranges from 0 to 100 per cent across the survey area. This variation is also evident in the distribution of the histogram.
The worst results in the Delta are around Ngapudaw, Myaungmya, Labutta and Bogale Townships where less than half of the households were using improved sanitation (shown in red and orange on Figure W6). The areas around Ngapudaw and Labutta also had a high prevalence of diarrhoea (Figure H6), which may be due partly to poor sanitation.
There are very good results east of Yangon (shown in green). Within Yangon Division, Kungyangon Township had the worst results. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 30
Figure W7: Adequate disposal of children’s faeces
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Compared to the results for sanitation facilities (Figure W6), a much higher proportion of households do not dispose of children’s faeces in a sanitary way. There are several communities where less than 10 per cent of households had sanitary practices for disposal of children’s faeces (shown in red on Figure W7).
1,134 households reported disposal of children’s faeces. The most common methods of disposal for child faeces were flushing into a latrine, drain or ditch. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 31
Figure W8: Washing hands before food preparation
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 13% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of people who wash their hands with soap before preparing food is an indicator for hygiene standards.
The proportion ranges from 13 to 100 per cent with better hygiene in the east (shown in green on Figure W8) than in the west (shown in orange). In around a quarter of the communities surveyed, almost all households reported that food preparers wash their hands with soap (the highest bar in the histogram). Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 32
Figure W9: Water received
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The indicators of receipt of water or hygiene relief items, shown in the next three figures, are simple measures of reach, showing only whether households reported to have or not to have received assistance.
Areas where a high proportion of households reported receiving aid are shown in green and a low proportion in red in Figure W9. The range is 0 to 100 per cent for the three maps with 0 to 10 per cent of households report having received assistance.
Areas, where little or no assistance was given, may not have been badly affected by the Cyclone and therefore may not need assistance.
Across the three indicators of water and hygiene relief, the reach of water assistance is the most concentrated and the reach of hygiene relief is the most widespread. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 33
Figure W10: Water storage and transport equipment received
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Provision of water storage and transport equipment such as jerry cans and buckets is more spread along the south of the Delta than water assistance. The coverage is across the area mostly affected by the storm surge as shown in Figure W10. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 34
Figure W11: Soap or hygiene equipment received
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Distribution of soap and hygiene kits had the widest coverage of the three indicators of receipt of relief goods.
Figure W11 illustrates that hygiene assistance reached some of the areas in the far west with poor hygiene practices (Figure W8) and high prevalence of diarrhoea (Figure H6). Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 35
2.5 sh e l t er The shelter available for people in the area of the Delta affected by the storm surge remains very poor. It is estimated that 450,000 housing units were destroyed by Cyclone Nargis and 350,000 more were damaged.10 While shelter assistance is being provided, the breadth and depth of coverage is significantly less than is required to adequately house the population in need. The shelter that does exist is in many cases of poor quality and provides limited protection from heat, rain or from future storms, and is often overcrowded.
Figure S1: Inadequate shelter conditions
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 90% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
This indicator shows the proportion of households that are living in shelters that are hotter, wetter or more crowded than before Cyclone Nargis.
The range is from 0 to 90 per cent. None of the surveyed communities along the path of the Cyclone had fully recovered shelters to pre-Nargis levels of adequacy (shown in red, orange and yellow on Figure S1).
Th aw t ar Kh i n ’s s t or y … ..After the wind blew down the house, the [family] did not have enough money to rebuild it. So instead they built a small tent in which all the members live. Since the tent is small it is quite crowded.
10 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 13. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 36
Figure S2: Plastic, tarpaulin or canvas is used in walls or roof
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 6 Labutta Bogale
Low: 0 Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of households living in shelters that are still using plastic, tarpaulin and canvas in their roofs and walls is highly concentrated in the area of the storm surge (shown in red on Figure S2). These shelters were repaired using temporary or emergency measures, rather than being rebuilt.
In 45 per cent of communities more than five per cent of households were living in makeshift shelters using plastic (yellow and red on Figure S2). In 7 per cent of the surveyed communities more than half of the households were living under plastic.
Communities with a high proportion of households using plastic in construction often lack the materials to rebuild with. Traditional sources of building materials were damaged or destroyed by the Cyclone. This includes the loss of trees and bamboo, as well as destruction of leaves used for thatching. Over-harvesting of local construction materials has occurred since the Cyclone and has implications for the sustainability of these resources. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 37
Figure S3: Preparedness for storms and flooding
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 6 Labutta Bogale
Low: 0 Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of households in communities that are prepared for future flooding and storms is poorest in low-lying geographic areas around the southern part of the Delta between Labutta and Bogale Townships (shown in orange and red on Figure S3).
Preparedness was measured by a score of between 0 (no preparation) to 6 (well prepared) given to shelters. The score takes into account: whether a shelter is raised above ground; presence of wind breaks (trees); short side of shelters facing windward; appropriate roofing; and a ‘safe haven’ (a building that could protect from a Cyclone) existing within half a mile (0.8 kilometres). Not a single dwelling scored 6 out of 6 and the average was below 3 out of 6.
Daw My i n t Th e i n ’s s t or y … The[family] hut is built of bambo and they use palm leaves for the roof. The height is too low for a grown person to stand up in and the hut is near foul-smelling mud and polluted water...Daw Myint Thein’s husband died two years before the Cyclone, when her family lived in a house her husband had built made of wood and bamboo. During the Cyclone, the whole house was washed away and they had to run for their lives and take shelter at a monastery. The place where they had lived their lives full of pride and joy had turned into a devastated hovel overnight.
The destruction of natural resources such as mangroves and palm trees also has major implications for future disaster preparedness. The damage to mangroves, both pre-Nargis and as a result of the Cyclone, means the loss of an effective buffer against storm surges, whilst the loss of wind-breaks due to the damage to shelter trees increases the vulnerability of dwellings to future storms. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 38
Daw Th e t Th e t Swe ’s s t or y … Even though they are supported with some materials to build their house again, they could not complete the house as they could not afford it. Because her husband is a farm labourer, her family could borrow money from the land owner with high interest, but they still could not afford the cost of rebuilding the house.
Figure S4: Received emergency shelter, construction materials or tools
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of households in communities that reported receiving emergency shelter, construction materials or construction tools ranges from 0 to 100 per cent. Most of the assistance provided was emergency shelter materials such as plastic and tarpaulins, rather than materials for reconstruction.
Households in some of the areas of inadequate shelter such as Bogale Township and southern Yangon Division (Figure S1) reported having received some shelter assistance, indicating a targeted response (green and yellow on Figure S4). However, the geographic coverage across the Delta and depth of coverage within the communities that are being reached remains inadequate. This is demonstrated by Figures S1 and S2 which show that households are still living in inadequate housing, so they were unable by themselves or with community or donor support, to rebuild to pre-Nargis standards.
There is a concentration of emergency shelter and construction materials provided between the three population centres of Mawlamyinegyun, Pyapon and Bogale. Delivery beyond this triangle, particularly to the west, appears to be limited. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 39
U Hl a Soe ‘s s t or y … U Hla Soe and his family lost their home in a Township in Yangon Division during the Cyclone. They could not afford to rebuild in the same place and so moved in to share with relatives in his grandmother’s house in the same Township. Now nine family members have to survive together in this tiny hut.
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 40
2.6 Ed u c a t i o n The basic education systems in the surveyed area appear to have recovered well considering that the VTA reported that more than 60 per cent of schools in the area were damaged or destroyed by Cyclone Nargis.11
School attendance is presented by age group, children aged 5 to 10 years and children aged 11 to 15 years.
Figure E1: Proportion of Children aged 5 to 10 years attending school
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 33% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of children aged 5 to 10 years attending school ranges from 100 per cent in many communities (shown in green on Figure E1) to a low of 35 per cent (shown in red). From the histogram we can see that in around half of the communities surveyed, between 90 and 100 per cent of primary school aged children attend school. However, there is considerable regional variation.
Of particular concern are the areas around Labutta and Yangon. The results around Yangon are from the periurban areas of greater Yangon.
11 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 9. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 41
Daw Th e t Th e t Swe ’s s t or y … “Who will feed us? They feed only my husband, so I have to stay here with my five children,’’ pointing to her eldest son of 18, another of 15, two daughters of 13 and 8, and the youngest son of 4. She also added, “Just to feed them every day is so difficult, how can we send them to school? Before the Cyclone, we could still send two of them to school. After the Cyclone, we had to drop the middle daughter out of school and made her help me make and sell food. Now we only have one child attending school.”
Figure E2: Reasons for non-attendance at school (ages 5 to 10)
Child looks after others in household Female Parents uninterested Male Child required for work No school Child uninterested Child sick / disabled School too far away Other reasons Costs associated with education
30 20 10 0102030
Percentage of children
The most common reason given for non-attendance at school for children 5 to 10 years, with a sample size of 174 children (Figure E2), is the cost associated with sending a child to school. Distance to school is a more common barrier for girls than for boys. Usual costs associated with education include uniforms, books and stationery as well as community contributions to the upkeep and improvement of school facilities.
Daw Ky i Oh n ’s s t or y … For the family to survive, Daw Kyi Ohn’s son had to drop out of the 6th grade and work on a duck farm, where he gets 700 kyat per day. Since she does not have any money to buy vegetables to sell, she has to find odd jobs or daily work. She told us that finding this type of work is difficult and so she has to rely on her son’s salary to survive. She cannot continue sending her daughter to school, who was attending the 5th grade. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 42
Figure E3: Proportion of Children aged 11 to 15 years attending school
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 11% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of children attending school is lower for 11 to 15 year olds and the lowest value reported was just 11 per cent. The proportion of older children attending school is between 40 and 80 per cent for most communities (the 4 highest bars on the histogram).
This is principally due to children leaving education to work in both domestic and income generating jobs.
The geographic distribution of the areas of lowest attendance is similar for primary school education (red and orange on E1 and E3). Low rates of school attendance at younger ages leave a smaller cohort of children able to progress through the school system. There are also considerably fewer secondary schools than primary schools.
These results do not represent whether children are in age-appropriate levels of education (e.g. a child aged 12 years attending the first year of education where students are typically 5 to 6 years old). This information is presented below.
Th aw t ar Kh i n ’s s t or y … Thawtar Khin’s 16 year-old brother helps the family by selling water around the community. Her 11 year-old sister just stays at home and helps her with the housework since they do not have money to send her to school. She said that when her sister grows up, she wil ask her to get a job to support the family Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 43
For older children (11 to 15 years), the cost of schooling remains the most common reason for non-attendance with a sample size of 430 children (Figure E4). However, needing to work is the second most important barrier for boys. For girls, needing to work or to be a carer for others in the household are almost equally common.
Figure E4: Reasons for non-attendance at school (ages 11 to 15)
Parents uninterested Female No school Male School too far away Child sick / disabled Other reasons Child looks after others in household Child uninterested Child required for work Costs associated with education
40 20 02040
Percentage of children
The percentage of children attending classes that are not appropriate for their age increases with age. Over the survey area around 46 per cent of children are in classes that are not age-appropriate and around 25 per cent are in classes that are more than 1 year different from what is appropriate for their age. A total of 204 children aged 11 to 16 attended classes 1 to 4 at the time of the survey. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 44
Figure E5: Proportion of households with Parental involvement in PTAs
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 80% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Formal schools in Myanmar have Parent Teacher Associations (PTA). These PTAs were mobilised to assist with school rebuilding and education recovery. Results from the assessment supported the fact that all schools have a PTA.
The proportion of households with parental involvement in PTAs ranges from 0 to 80 per cent (shown in red to green on Figure E5). For most communities, participation was less than 20 per cent (the two tallest bars on the histogram). It is lowest in the central west of the Delta around Labutta. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 45
Figure E6: Received education assistance
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The proportion of households with children in surveyed communities that reported receiving education assistance since Cyclone Nargis ranges from 0 to 100 per cent. Assistance was focused in the southern part of the Delta (shown in green and yellow on Figure E6).
Coverage by donors has concentrated efforts on the Townships most affected by the Cyclone, rather than areas with chronic problems. The Townships where assistance was directed in Ayeyarwady Division are: Bogale; Dedaye, Pyapon; Kyaiklat; Labutta; Mawlamyinegyun and Ngapudaw Townships. In Yangon Division, support was focused on Kawhmu, Kungyangon, Twantay, and the periurban areas of Shwepyithar and Hlaingtharya. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 46
2.7 li v e l i h ood s Changes in the patterns of economic activity and livelihood have occurred as a result of Cyclone Nargis. The sheer number of people killed has dramatically reduced the labour force. The storm surge salinated, washed away or flooded large tracts of land. Animals, crops, trees and the equipment needed for fishing and farming were lost. Without the capacity to produce their own food or income, communities will remain aid-dependent.
Figure L1: Livelihoods before and after Cyclone Nargis
Bar girl / massage / &c. Forestry Before Rent / lease of property After Salt production Microfinance Savings Borrowing with collateral Sale of assets Charcoal Remittance Gifts / family Borrowing without collateral Pawning of assets Aquaculture Private sector employee Gang labour Government employee Self−employed / craftsman / artisan Trader / shopkeeper / broker Other Seasonal labour Fishing Agriculture Casual labour
0510 15 20 25
Percentage of households
Figure L1 shows principal livelihoods or income generating activities. Livelihoods in the surveyed area are very diverse with most households reporting multiple sources of income (up to three could be included). A total of 3674 sources of income were reported before, and 3584 after the Cyclone.12 These results are summarised in Figure L2.
12 In figures L1, L2 and L3, the results for ‘other’ appear quite high despite the range of options available. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 47
Figure L2: Principal livelihoods before and after Cyclone Nargis (grouped)
Debt (including sales of assets) Before
Trade After
Other
Agriculture, sheries, and forestry
Labour (all employment)
010203040
Percentage of households
Since the Cyclone, there has been a shift away from fishing and agriculture and an increase in casual labour. By comparison with the VTA, the shift to casual labour appears smaller now than immediately after the Cyclone.13 This may indicate a return to previous livelihoods, but this is a simple measure of what people do, and does not show how productive these activities are. For example, a person who previously earned most of their income from fishing may have been able to return to this profession, but if they have lost their boat, they may have to engage in less profitable forms of fishing. Therefore, they may be spending the same amount of time doing an activity, but it may not be as productive or profitable as prior to the Cyclone. Also, if people migrated out of the Cyclone-affected area to seek work, that result is not captured in this household survey.
Daw My i n t Th e i n ’s s t or y … From the Cyclone, the family’s living conditions are not the only thing that changed - their health and income were affected as well. When the Cyclone washed their home away, it also carried away everything they owned, including the money which Daw Myint Thein invested to sell vegetables. Once a very proud widow, now she has nothing left to invest and therefore her eldest son has to do heavy work at the ricemill carrying ricebags and other heavy items. He got injured with his spinal column getting compressed from this heavy labour. Her younger son, who is just 17, has therefore had to quit school and do the same kind of work as his brother for the family to survive.
Figure L3: Principal activities before and after Cyclone Nargis (grouped)
13 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 11. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 48
Trade, self−employed, skilled worker Before After None
Other
Household / care for household members
Agriculture and shing
Labouring including domestic labour
0510 15 20 25 30 Percentage of persons
Figure L3 shows the principle activities carried out by people before and after the Cyclone. They include non-income generating domestic work, more commonly done by women.
Daw My a Se i n ’s s t or y … After the Cyclone, people who owned ricefields were left with no money to invest and no seeds to plant. Since the landowners do not have money to start planting, casual workers also became jobless. They do not have any money to start other kinds of work. A lot of boats were also destroyed. Homes that were not destroyed were only rebuilt for temporary use. Since agricultural workers cannot get back on their feet, they cannot rebuild their homes.
Livelihoods within communities are interlinked and interdependent, reflecting complex social and economic structures. Casual and agricultural labourers are dependant on the recovery of the landowners for the restoration of their livelihoods. Where losses of assets and land were high, interactions between these groups may change. Where large numbers of lives were lost, the social structures themselves may also have changed. Not only has the labour force been reduced, but the uneven death toll radically altered the gender balance in some areas, as many more women and children died than men.14 Employment, trade and money-lending practices that were built on long standing relationships between individuals and families were disrupted.
Daw Ky i Oh n ’s s t or y … In addition to the loss of her son, Daw Kyi Ohn’s hut was almost destroyed from the strong wind and water. After the Cyclone, she only lives in a small hut. In the disaster, she also lost her savings and belongings. Accordingly, she cannot sell vegetables like before [because she has no money to buy them with].
2.7.1 Cred i t One of the consequences of disrupted social structures is an impact on interlinked access to employment and credit. Traditional patron/client relations, especially between farmers and day labourers have been impacted by Cyclone Nargis. Forms of patronage and lending that function viably under stable social conditions may become more problematic when compounded by other factors that increase vulnerability. Day labourers reported taking high interest loans to rebuild their damaged or destroyed homes. Interviewees from the qualitative plug-in reported interest rates up to 60 per cent.
14 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 1. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 49
Daw Th e t Th e t Swe ’s s t or y … In order to plan their lives after the Cyclone, the family borrowed money from a farm-owner at high interest, about 60 per cent. They have to pay 60,000 kyat in interest when they borrow 100,000. Her husband’s yearly wage is 50 baskets of paddy, which is equivalent to 200,000 kyat. Now they have to spend the high-interest loan and they will never be able to get out of the circle of debt - they are always in heavy debt. At the same time, her husband cannot give up being a day-labourer since he has better job security as a farm worker, and it is easier to borrow money or get wages in advance. Thus people in the village prefer to be farm labourers rather than casual labourers. Job scarcity for casual labourers has caused a lot of stress.
Different types of employment allow different access to credit. Labourers who have more secure, but often lower-paying, positions are better able to access credit from landowners or others with available capital. Women may also have poorer access to credit than men. From the results of the qualitative plug-in, some people with very restricted incomes were unable to secure a loan for cash and have accepted shelters built in exchange for a year’s labour.
Daw My a Se i n ’s s t or y … The[family] planted 20 acres of paddy before the Cyclone. They were not in debt because their income matched their expenses, but now they can no longer plant or work on their farm... In Daw Mya Sein’s village, the Cyclone destroyed most of the houses, including hers. The crops were also ruined because they had not been harvested. The family cannot afford to plant paddy for the rainy- season crop. All the households in the village are in trouble now.
The social structures surrounding access to credit and forms of debt are examined in greater depth in other publications including the SIM.
2.7.2 Ag r i c u l t u re The maps for the Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries sub-chapters show the proportion of households that suffered a loss since Cyclone Nargis and six months later have not recovered or replaced what was lost. Households may have a portion of their previous holdings or none at all. Communities where no surveyed households had holdings of the type being examined prior to the Cyclone, or where there was no loss, are not reported on for that indicator. So only communities that had some holdings and suffered a loss have been reported on.
Areas shown in red on the maps represent communities where a high proportion of households have lost and not yet recovered their pre-Nargis holdings. The depth of loss and reasons for loss are also discussed. For all indicators, the reasons are almost exclusively due to the Cyclone. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 50
Figure A1: Paddy lost and not yet recovered
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The Ayeyarwady River Delta is the rice bowl of Myanmar and paddy is traditionally an important source of income for farmers and agricultural labourers. The proportion of households with reduced areas for cultivation of monsoon or summer paddy is highest in the area affected by the storm surge (shown in red and orange on Figure A1). This includes Bogale, Labutta, Pyapon and Mawiamyinegyun Townships.
A total of 215 surveyed households had owned rice paddy prior to the Cyclone. Of the households that lost paddy, the median productive paddy holding prior to the Cyclone was 10 acres and six months after the Cyclone the median holding was 3 acres. The median post-Nargis holding for this group was 33 per cent of pre-Nargis holdings (95% C.I. 25% - 43%). A total of 26 per cent of households surveyed had lost all of their pre-Nargis holdings.
The median, rather than the mean, of loss is reported here as, prior to the Cyclone, a few people owned large areas of paddy and many people owned small areas. This distribution would cause the results of the mean to be more reflective of the large land owners than of the more numerous small holders. A similar approach is used throughout this chapter. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 51
Figure A2: Reasons for loss of paddy
Other reason
Other Damage or loss
Lack of tools
Lack or fertiliser / pesticides
Lack of seeds
Shortage of labour
Damage to drainage
Salt spoilage
0510 15 20
Percentage of households
As shown in Figure A2, the three most common reasons given for loss of paddy area for cultivation are salt spoilage, due to the storm surge, damage to drainage and shortage of labour. These are problems that may take several years to recover from.
In vulnerable households interviewed for the qualitative plug-in, people from previously plentiful rice- growing regions expressed their concern over the effects of crop failure. Villagers with unproductive garden plots also expressed concern over the effects of salt contamination.
Daw Th e t Th e t Swe ’s s t or y … In front of the house is a big field where seedless and failed riceplants look like they are trying to survive under a very hot sun. Daw Thet Thet Swe said, “We do not know why the riceplants are like that, this is the first time we have seen that. We think it is from the Cyclone.” Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 52
Figure A3: Tree crops (perennial) lost and not yet recovered
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Lost perennial crops, including orchards, palms, fruit and nut trees, are concentrated in the inland areas of the central delta, such as Mawlamyinegyun, Wakema and Maubin Townships, and southwest of the Delta in parts of Ngapudaw and Labutta Townships (shown in red on Figure A3).
Less than half of the communities surveyed had perennial crops prior to the Cyclone, a total of 51 households, as they are not common in the low-lying delta area. Many of these crops may take several years to re- establish before producing fruit or nuts.
The slow recovery expected for these crops is reflected in the depth of loss, which is greater than for paddy. For households that suffered a loss, prior to Cyclone Nargis the median landholding for perennials was 5 acres. The median holding at the time of the survey was 0 acres (95% C.I. 0 – 0). More than three quarters of households that suffered a loss, lost all their perennial crops and replaced none of them.
The most common reason given for the loss of tree crops is that the trees were damaged or destroyed in the Cyclone (Figure A4). Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 53
Figure A4: Reasons for loss of tree crops (perennial)
Lack of seeds
Lack or fertiliser / pesticides
Lack of tools
Damage to drainage
Salt spoilage
Other reason
Shortage of labour
Damaged or destroyed
0102030405060
Percentage of households
‘Damaged or destroyed’ means that productive trees and bushes were blown down or washed away.
U Toe Ky i ’s s t or y … He owns one acre of fruit garden where he grows betel and fruit. Due to the Cyclone, his garden was destroyed and he needs money to replant. Therefore, he is facing difficulties with his family’s survival. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 54
Figure A5: Home garden lost and not yet recovered
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
In around one third of the communities surveyed, at least one household had a smaller area of home garden than before Cyclone Nargis. These communities are spread across the south of the survey area (shown in red, orange and yellow on Figure A5).
Home gardens provide supplementary food and income. They are less common in some parts of the Delta where the soil is not suitable. 397 households had home gardens prior to the Cyclone.
For households that lost a home garden, the median pre-Cyclone holding was 400 square feet and post-Cyclone it was 0 square feet (95% C.I. 0 - 0). More than two thirds of households lost all of their home garden. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 55
Figure A6: Received agricultural inputs
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Receipt of agricultural assistance, including seeds, fertiliser and equipment, is limited with only around 10 per cent of communities receiving any assistance (shown in green and yellow on Figure A6). The assistance that was received is concentrated in the south east of the Delta, from the western part of South Yangon District through some of Maubin District and most of Pyapon District.
Some interviewees reported that rice seeds provided as part of the relief effort were of mixed varieties with varying growth rates that rendered traditional harvesting methods impossible.
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 56
2.7.3 li v e s t o c k Livestock play diverse roles in households affected by the Cyclone. Poultry (chickens and ducks) are kept mainly for eggs, and cockerels are killed and sold, diversifying people’s diets and providing income. Pigs are raised and sold for occasions such as weddings and festivals and are particularly important for the landless. Buffalos and cattle are draft animals used to plough fields. The Figures in this sub-chapter are constructed in the same way as Figures A1, A3 and A5, reporting a loss of livestock since the Cyclone that is yet to be replaced
. Figure LS1: Poultry lost and not yet replaced
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Prior to Cyclone Nargis, holdings of chickens and ducks were widespread with 1,166 households owning poultry. Losses of these poultry holdings occurred in almost every community surveyed. In almost one-third of the communities, every household had suffered a loss (shown in red on Figures LS1 and the highest bar on the histogram).
The distribution of households that lost chickens and waterfowl and failed to recover those losses follows very closely the path of the Cyclone.
For households that suffered a loss, the median pre-Cyclone holding of poultry was 20 birds. At the time of the survey the median holding was 1 bird (95% C.I. 1 - 2). This is a 90 per cent reduction on average. 43 per cent of households that previously had poultry now have none. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 57
Figure LS2: Reasons for loss of poultry
Other
Eaten
Sold
Lost
Died
020406080
Percentage of households
The principle reason given for loss of poultry was that they died in the Cyclone (Figure LS2).
The most common reason for loss of pigs was also that they had died in the Cyclone (Figure LS3). However, around 20 per cent were sold. Some pigs may have been sold to raise cash to pay for food, shelter or other needs created by the disaster.
Figure LS3: Reason for loss of pigs
Eaten
Other
Lost
Sold
Died
0102030405060
Percentage of households Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 58
Figure LS4: Pigs lost and not yet replaced
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
Meat is a luxury in the Delta and pigs are typically raised for sale. They are particularly important to the landless, but also add value to other farming activities. Prior to the Cyclone, 449 households owned pigs.
Pig loss was more concentrated in the area of the storm surge (shown in red on Figure LS4) than poultry loss (Figure LS1). This includes Bogale, Labutta, Pyapon and Mawiamyinegyun Townships.
For households that suffered a loss, prior to the Cyclone, the median holding of pigs was 2 and this fell to 0 (95% CI= 0 - 0). In total, 68 per cent of households that had pigs prior to the Cyclone did not own pigs at the time of the survey.
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 59
Figure LS5: Buffalo and cattle lost and not yet replaced
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The loss of buffalo and cattle is a significant problem for the recovery of the agricultural sector as they are draft animals used to pull ploughs. Prior to the Cyclone, 132 households owned at least one draft animal. There is a correlation between the loss of paddy (Figure A1) and the loss of buffalo and cattle (shown in red on Figure LS5).
In around 20 communities, every household that had buffalo or cattle has lost those animals and they have not yet been replaced (the second highest bar on the histogram).
For households that suffered a loss, the median holding prior to the Cyclone was 4 draft animals, at the time of the survey it was 1 draft animal (95% C.I. 0 to 1). There was an average loss of 75 per cent of draft animals with 44 per cent of households that previously owned buffalo or cattle now owning no draft animals. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 60
Figure LS6: Reasons for loss of buffalo and cattle
Eaten
Other
Lost
Sold
Died
020406080
Percentage of households
The most common reason for the loss of water buffalo and cattle was that they died in the Cyclone. Around 10 per cent were sold.
2.7.4 Fi s h er i e s The people of the Delta and rivers traditionally engage in a diverse range of fisheries activities from deep sea fishing to aquaculture in ponds. The maps in this section are constructed in the same way as maps in the two previous sub-chapters, reporting a loss of boats and fishing equipment as a result of the Cyclone that is yet to be replaced. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 61
Figure FI1: Boats lost and not yet replaced
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
This indicator covers the loss of any type of boat. Boats are used in fisheries, but also for transportation around the Delta and along rivers.
In 13 communities, every household that had a boat has lost that boat and it has not been replaced (shown in red on Figure FI1 and the second highest bar on the histogram).
258 households owned at least one boat prior to the Cyclone, very few households owned more than one. After the Cyclone, more than three quarters of households lost that boat and have not yet been able to replace it. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 62
Figure FI2: Reasons for loss of boats
Sold
Other
Damaged
Lost / destroyed
020406080
Percentage of households
Figures FI2 and FI3 show almost identical reasons for the loss of boats and fishing nets with more than 80 per cent destroyed by Cyclone Nargis and the next most common reason being that they were damaged.
Figure FI3: Reasons for loss of fishing nets
Sold
Other
Damaged
Destroyed
020406080
Percentage of households Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 63
Figure FI4: Fishing nets lost and not yet replaced
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The loss of fishing nets is indicative of losses of other fishing equipment such as traps, lines and bamboo fences.
The proportion of communities where households lost fishing nets (Figure FI4) that are yet to be replaced is more concentrated in the Delta than for boats (Figure FI1). The distribution of the histogram was very close to the histogram associated with Figure FI1.
Prior to the Cyclone, 280 households had nets. The median pre-Cyclone net ownership was 2 nets and at the time of the survey it was 0 nets (95% CI= 0 - 0). 73 per cent of households that had fishing nets prior to the Cyclone no longer have any. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 64
2.8 cro s s -c u t t i n g i s s u e s There are a number of issues that play a role across all sectors. These include vulnerability, post- traumatic stress, wealth, receipt of aid, gender and environment. By focusing on each of these, the needs assessed by sector in the proceeding chapters can be understood in a more nuanced and systemic way. Issues relating to gender and environment have been integrated into the chapters.
2.8.1 vu l n era b i l i t y a n d p ro t e c t i o n Natural disasters stretch, disrupt, and often destroy social networks as much as they destroy lives and property. The people that are at greatest risk are the vulnerable populations living at the edges of fragile and often tenuous networks of social security. Using the qualitative plug-in, a particular focus was given to vulnerable groups in the community described in Figure V1 below.
Figure V1: Estimates of the proportion of households in each category of vulnerability
Main carer is a grandparent
Adolescent girl unrelated to head of household
Main carer is male
Main carer is less than 18 years old
Malnourished child
Members of different pre−Nargis households
Female headed with young children
Reduced utilisation of land
School−age child not attending school
Children living in sub−standard accommodation
010203040
Percentage of households
According to the data collected in the household assessment, the most common type of pre-defined vulnerable case found was ‘children living in sub-standard accommodation’ (defined primarily as overcrowding), followed by ‘school-age children not attending school’. Approximately 15 per cent of households are ‘female headed with young children’ and 10 per cent of the households had members of different households in the one dwelling. Children whose main carer was either a grandparent, male or under-18 years old accounted for around 8 per cent. These case-definitions are not mutually exclusive and many households meeting multiple categories of vulnerability were found. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 65
Due to the heightened risk faced by these vulnerable groups, the qualitative plug-in was conducted to allow in-depth investigation into their needs and concerns. Households were selected as being vulnerable and interviewed according to the set of ten criteria in Figure V1.
Although at the time of writing this report it was only possible to present preliminary findings for the qualitative data, the qualitative plug-in clearly highlights significant immediate needs and also identifies new problems that are knock-on effects of Cyclone Nargis. These include: fear of food and water shortages; effects of problematic post-Nargis labour practices; outcomes of uneven aid distribution; changes in aid availability; collapse of local systems of cooperation; and results of differentiated intervention policies. These are the conditions of post-disaster recovery, but could also be the early warning signals of potential future problems. Discussion of most of these issues is integrated in the previous chapters.
After Cyclone Nargis, 23 per cent of households reported psychosocial distress within their household.15 The psychological trauma of the Cyclone itself and subsequent disruption of peoples’ lives, livelihoods and social structures is ongoing and it is changing people and their communities.
U Kh i n Moe ’s (a v i l l a g e l eader ) s t or y … U Khin Moe was heartbroken when he saw that the electric poles [that he had installed through a village project] had fallen down. He got really worried about what the community would think of him, and what peope who had borrowed money to contribute to the project, would say. It was too much for him when he saw that his paddy fields were destroyed. He could not sleep or eat. He was found walking in the village at night talking gibberish to himself.
Fieldworkers for the qualitative plug-in observed two major indicators of psychological stress. Firstly, interviewees regularly cried when answering even simple questions about their experiences. Although the survey tool is specifically designed to avoid direct questions about trauma, such evidence is often wilfully offered without solicitation. Secondly, fieldworkers reported inappropriate laughter, a well- known marker for post-traumatic stress.
U Toe Ky i ’s s t or y … U Toe Kyi and his wife were saddened by the loss of their son and his family, and they give everything they can to support their grandson. They even sent him to school to receive a proper education. They try to make him happy - they buy him toys and take him to festivals. But sometimes they can see him sitting quietly lost in his thoughts, thinking about his family.
15 TCG (June 2008) Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 8. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 66
2.8.2 Wea l t h The wealth of households and communities impacts on their ability to fund their own recovery. However, for many households, the wealth and income earning capacity that they held prior to Cyclone Nargis was lost or damaged in the disaster.
The wealth index (Figure WE1) displayed here shows the relative wealth distribution across the survey area. It was calculated using the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) method and looking at: household ownership of durable goods; cost of schooling as a barrier to education; presence of malnutrition; food insecurity; and consumption of ‘luxury’ foods, such as meat.
Figure WE1: Wealth index
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend Wealthy Labutta Bogale
Poor Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
The results in Figure WE1 are a relative measure within the surveyed area and are not comparable with other measures of wealth within or across countries. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 67
2.8.3 Re c e i p t of a i d
Figure R1: Local organisations working in communities
PATHEIN YANGON
Bay of Bengal
Mawlamyinegyun
Pyapon Legend High: 100% Labutta Bogale
Low: 0% Gulf of Mottama (Gulf of Martaban)
05 10 20 ³ Kilometers
In nearly every community surveyed, at least one household was aware of a local organisation working in their community. In around a third of communities, every household surveyed was aware of a local organisation (shown in green on Figure R1 and the highest bar on the histogram).
There is a discontinuity between the area worst affected by the Cyclone, which is the southern part of the Delta where the storm surge struck, and the area where local organisations are most active, which is closer to Yangon.
Th aw t ar Kh i n ’s s t or y … After waiting three months, the family got some assistance from an INGO. They received a bag of rice, a water tank, some mats, mosquito nets and some kitchenware. Thawtar Khin was very happy that these items helped her with her family’s needs. They lost their mosquito nets in the Cyclone and so were quite happy to get new ones. Although this help did not cover all their needs, the family was stil hapy to get it just when they needed it the most.
The types of aid needed are diverse, reflecting the diversity of the livelihoods and interdependence of economic and social structures. In several of the qualitative interviews, people expressed a wish for start up capital in order to re-establish their small businesses. Sources of assistance have also been diverse, beginning with the communities themselves. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 68
Daw My i n t Th e i n ’s s t or y . The family stated that the house they are living in was built with the generous help of their village....she hopes for the day when she can get a small amount of money to reinvest to get back on her feet.
Daw Th e t Th e t Swe ’s s t or y . The family received aid from two INGOs and two local NGOs, who provided some support to the family. They received tarpaulins from a local NGO, a kit of items for everyday use such as soap, tooth paste, kitchen utensils from one INGO, and a sack of rice from another INGO. This assistance was adequate, and they did not need to worry about their basic survival. Some of the aid was in the form of durable goods for use over the long-term, while others, like food and rice, covered only a certain period of time.
The complexity of relief and aid programs can have unintended consequences that exclude needy people who do not meet the specific criteria to receive various types of assistance. People who lost their documentation are more vulnerable than those who possess this information, as claims to various rights and services are predicated on national registration.
Daw My a Se i n ’s s t or y … The family received farm assistance because they owned their own farm, though they were not eligible to receive food aid. They rely on other people to share their food with them.
2.9 co n c l u s i o n s Looking at the findings across all sectors, and taking into account the cross-cutting issues, there are a number of conclusions that can be drawn. While this report does not seek to evaluate in detail the success of the assistance provided or to make policy recommendations, this chapter outlines a number of key characteristics of the data collected and analysed for the first round of the Periodic Review.
Fi r s t p r i or i t i e s A number of issues are identified in this report that need to be addressed as a high priority.
• The need for food aid will continue for some time due to the extent of losses in food production and productivity, as well as reduced purchasing power in the affected area.
• The interaction of the high prevalence of diarrhoea, severe food insecurity and poor sanitation practices in the south west of the survey area.
• The high prevalence of fever and lack of medicines available in the central delta.
• Poor food security in the far west, where little or no food aid has been received.
• The concerns about water shortages through the dry season.
• The use of unimproved water sources and inadequate water treatment south of Yangon.
• The high proportion of people who are living in inadequate temporary shelters, particularly in the southern delta.
• Increasing indebtedness, to be repaid in both cash and labour. Interest rates for loans are extremely high making repayment of debt difficult.
• The need for much greater support for recovery of livelihoods in order for Cyclone-affected populations to regain the level of self-sufficiency that they had prior to Cyclone Nargis.
• The recovery of the Delta has wider significance, as it is a very important food-producing region for Myanmar. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 69
In addition to these specific priorities, three overarching conclusions can be drawn from the findings of the first round of the Periodic Review.
1) need s are d i v er s e The needs of the people and communities that were affected by Cyclone Nargis are diverse. They vary according to the nature and extent of the damage caused by the Cyclone in different areas. In particular, the needs of communities in the areas affected by the storm surge are often greater than the needs of other communities. In the areas where the storm surge hit, peoples’ lives were literally washed away.
There is also a diversity of needs within communities. Vulnerable members of societies are those who are the least protected. Food and water shortages will affect these people first. However, they exist within a social fabric and in order to sustainably assist vulnerable groups, systemic rehabilitation of entire communities is needed.
The diversity of needs between and within communities means that ongoing relief as well as recovery assistance is required. Some people remain dependant on emergency assistance to meet daily needs, and continued targeted relief through vertical programming is vital. There are also groups, whose needs are less immediate that require opportunities to re-establish and secure their livelihoods. This requires more horizontal programming approaches to address the needs of interdependent social and economic structures.
2) De p t h a n d c o v era g e of a s s i s t a n c e i s req u i red Some assessment of assistance provided was made in most sectors and two principal characteristics are apparent. Firstly, it is evident that while assistance was successfully targeted to the most affected areas in the Delta, there are considerable geographic variations. Assistance is not reaching the western Delta, including Labutta and Ngapudaw Townships, as effectively as it is reaching the eastern Delta. In addition, the level of need evident in some of the larger towns and periurban areas is not matched by relief and recovery assistance received, for example in parts of Yangon Division and Pathein Township. These may reflect chronic needs, rather than a result of Cyclone Nargis.
Secondly, the persistence of need even in areas that received substantial assistance, such as Pyapon District, means that the depth of assistance is not yet sufficient. This is primarily a reflection of the extent of the devastation caused by the Cyclone.
3) need for m ore i n t e g ra t ed p ro g ra m m i n g In order to address the complex, interdependent issues facing the communities affected by the Cyclone, greater coordination and horizontal integration of programming may be required. Relief assistance will continue to be needed even as recovery efforts are increased. However, the need for relief will only end when communities are assisted holistically and the diversity of needs is addressed in ways that work with existing social and economic structures to achieve sustainable recovery. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 70
Su m m ar y • Ongoing relief as well as recovery assistance is required because:
some people remain dependent on emergency assistance to meet their daily needs; while
for others what is required is an opportunity to re-establish and secure their livelihoods.
• Many of the issues facing the Cyclone-affected communities are interlinked and cut across sectors.
• It is not possible to attribute all of the results presented in this report directly or exclusively to the Cyclone, or to subsequent relief efforts.
Some of the results suggest pre-existing and chronic needs.
• Assistance that has been delivered is making an impact; however the depth and geographic coverage is not yet sufficient to meet all needs.
• Assistance should address the diversity of need in the communities.
• Greater coordination and horizontal integration of programming may be required.
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 71
Se c t i o n 3:
An n e x e s
3.1 me t h odo l o g y of t h e f i r s t Per i od i c Re v i ew The methodology used for the first round of the Periodic Review in the Union of Myanmar employed several innovative approaches in order to provide useful data and analysis for decision makers. A key innovation was the use of a mixed-methods approach that combined a quantitative probability- sampled household survey with a qualitative purposively-sampled 'plug-in' investigation focusing on vulnerable groups.
3.1.1 Qu a n t i t a t i v e m e t h odo l o g y
Sa m p l e De s i g n The Periodic Review assessed the same sampling area as the VTA, which was defined as the worst- affected Townships, but not the same communities. The definition of ‘affected’ used to select the Townships was the loss of life and / or property that had an impact on the livelihood of an individual, family or a community. It did not take into consideration the ability to cope with the damage and destruction.1 There were 30 Townships with this definition (see Annex 3.3 for the list).
The Periodic Review used a two-stage cluster sample design in which the primary sampling units were communities sampled from the affected area and the secondary sampling units were households within selected primary sampling units. Primary sampling units were selected using the Centric Systematic Area Sampling (CSAS) method. This method involves dividing the survey area into non-overlapping, equal, and contiguous areas and sampling the community located closest to the centre of each area. The advantages of using the CSAS method is that it provides a spatially-even sample of communities avoiding the bias towards sampling the most populous communities that is present in sampling methods such as population proportional sampling (PPS). When combined with a representative within-community sampling method, it allows spatial analysis and presentation of survey data.
It is common practice to use a square grid to define the areas used in CSAS samples. This was done in the VTA. A hexagonal grid was used in the Periodic Review because it yields a more spatially even sample than a square grid with neighbouring primary sampling units tending to be equidistant from each other in all directions.
To determine the location of the primary sampling units, a hexagonal grid was drawn onto a map of the survey area. The size of the hexagonal tiles used was determined by consideration of the need for spatial detail and a practicable number of primary sampling units. The side length of each hexagonal tile was six nautical miles (11.11 kilometres). With this side length, the distance between the centroids of neighbouring hexagonal tiles is 10.39 nautical miles (19.06 kilometres). 113 of these hexagonal tiles were required to cover the Periodic Review survey area. Post-Nargis satellite imagery was used to determine the community located closest to the centroids of the hexagonal tiles and 113 communities were selected as primary sampling units.
Within each selected community, households were selected using a map-segment-sample technique that is known to provide a representative sample of households from communities.2 The combination of an even spatial sample of primary sampling units (PSUs) and the use of a representative within- PSU sampling method allows spatial analysis techniques to be used and for results to be presented as maps.
1 TCG (June 2008), Post-Nargis Joint Assessment, p 35. 2 A short guide to the Map-Segment-Sample community sampling method for the TCG Periodic Review. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 72
In d i c a t or s a n d q u e s t i o n n a i re The assessment tools were created by identifying contributing variables for indicators identified in consultation with the health, food, nutrition, protection of women and children, water-sanitation- hygiene (WASH), agriculture, early recovery, education and shelter Clusters, and representatives of the Government of the Union of Myanmar. Indicators selected were to be part of the Early Recovery framework for the Cluster and were to monitor needs. Some indicators were used previously in well- developed monitoring assessments, such as questions from the Core Questions on Drinking-Water and Sanitation for the WASH Cluster. However, in some cases the questions were developed to fit the requirement of monitoring needs after a cyclone. Where possible, indicators were selected to be compared to the Village Tract Assessment. The tool was developed in English and translated into Myanmar, pre-tested in English and Myanmar, and further evaluated in a pilot survey.
Sa m p l e s i z e , da t a c o l l e c t i o n a n d da t a a n a l y s i s The planned overall sample size was 113 primary sampling units (PSUs) with 22 households sampled from each PSU. Data were collected between 29 October to 14 November 2008. The survey sampled 113 PSUs as planned, but five of these were censored due to improper recording of location data. The achieved sample size was, therefore, 108 PSUs with 22 households sampled from each PSU. Data were double entered and validated using a purpose written database system. Data were analysed and mapped using ordinary kriging. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 73
3.1.2 Qu a n t i t a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t t oo l s
MYANMAR PERIODIC REVIEW HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONNAIRE© This document should not be replicated or othewise used without the advice and consent of the authors.
DIVISION:
DISTRICT:
TOWNSHIP
WARD/ VILLAGE TRACT:
PCODE:
M M R
Date of Interview: Day Month Year
Time: Beginning of Interview Hour Minute
End of Interview Hour Minute
THE INFORMATION COLLECTED WILL BE USED ONLY FOR STATISTICAL PURPOSES AND IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 74
Name of Enumerator Code
Name of Supervisor Code
Name of Data Entry Operater 1 Code
Name of Data Entry Operator 2 Code
Verified: Verified by (name):
Yes 1
No 2
Hexagon No. Household No.
Name of Principal Respondent ID Code
Measure the length of the dwelling Measure the width of the dwelling
feet feet
Interview Outcome: Complete interview 1
Partial/incomplete interview 2
Refusal 3
Questionnaire of Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 75 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 13 10 11 12 DON’T KNOW (7) RELATIONSHIP TO HEAD: TO RELATIONSHIP HEAD HEAD SPOUSE/PARTNER SON/DAUGHTER SON/DAUGHTER-IN-LAW FATHER/MOTHER FATHER-IN-LAW/MOTHER-IN-LAW SISTER/BROTHER GRANDCHILD GRANDPARENT NIECE/NEPHEW RELATIVE OTHER RELATED NOT MONTHS (6) AGE RECORD AGE IN YEARS IF PERSON IS MORE THAN ONE YEAR RECORD OLD. AGE IN MONTHS IF PERSON IS THAN ONE LESS YEAR OLD. YEARS 1 2 (5) SEX: MALE FEMALE 5 6 1 4 2 3 (4) If this person is not currently living in the household, where is he or she? Missing Don’t know Another household in same village Dead Another village/city in Myanmar Another village/city Country outside of Myanmar (3) Is this person currently living in the household? YES >>5 1 NO 2 O s t E R R (2) Was this Was person living in the household prior to Cyclone Nargis? YES 1 NO 2 O u s E h O l D NAME (1) Start with the all individuals currently living in the household. Then list those who in the lived household prior to Cyclone Nargis who are no longer in the household. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 I E C D D O mODulE 1: h feet of Code Code Code Code ID Code 1 2 3 Questionnaire Verifi ed by (name): ed Verifi Measure the width of dwelling Household No. feet Complete interview interview Partial/incomplete Refusal 1 2 Name of Enumerator Name of Supervisor 1 Name of Data Entry Operater 2 Name of Data Entry Operator ed: Verifi Yes No Hexagon No. Name of Principal Respondent Measure the length of dwelling Interview Outcome: Year Minute Minute Month Day Hour Hour End of Interview R M DIVISION: DISTRICT: TOWNSHIP VILLAGE TRACT: WARD/ PCODE: M Date of Interview: Time: Beginning of Interview FOR STATISTICAL COLLECTED WILL BE USED ONLY THE INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL PURPOSES AND IS STRICTLY (9) YES 1 NO 2 Has [NAME] had a fever in the last 14 days? 7 8 2 3 4 5 6 1 3rd (8) 2nd Home remedy No treatment 1st Reduced food or liquid given to child food or liquid given Reduced special foods to child Gave therapy rehydration Oral Other (specify) or stop breastfeeding Reduce “How did you treat [NAME’S] diarrhoea? “How did you THREE METHODS” LIST UP TO to child Increased food or drink given (7) YES 1 NO 2>>9 Did [NAME] exerience diarrhoea during the last 14 days? (6) YES 1 NO 2 IS BILATERAL PITTING OEDEMA PRESENT? CHILDREN WHO ARE SUFFICIENT HEIGHT OR LENGTH (25 to 43 INs) (5) YELLOW 2 YELLOW GREEN 3 RED 1 MEASURE MEASURE THE CHILD’S MID UPPER ARM CIRCUM- FERENCE ON THE LEFT ARM AND WRITE DOWN THE RANGE IN WHICH THE MEASUREMENT IS FOUND (4) YES 1 NO>>11 2 COMPARE COMPARE THE HEIGHT (OR LENGTH) CHILD THE OF THE TO MEASURING POLE. DETERMINE IF THE CHILD'S HEIGHT (OR LENGTH) IS BETWEEN THE TWO MARKS. (b) YES 1 NO 2 Solid or semi-solid (mushy) foods (3) (a) YES 1 NO 2 Any other Any liquids Since yesterday, did Since yesterday, of any [NAME] receive the following? O D u l E (2) m YES 1 NO 2 Is [NAME] currently being breastfed? CHILDREN 6 MONTHS OLD OR YOUNGER h i l D (1) NAME Write the Write name of any child who is old 15 years or less and currently living in the household from the in the Roster corresponding line with their ID Code from the Roster I E C D D O 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 mODulE 2: c
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 76 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 (13) What is the main activity that [NAME] does now? What is the main activity ASK ONLY IF PERSON IS 15 YEARS OLD OR OLDER ONLY ASK Day labor/casual labour Day Group labour (boss or member) Salt producer Self employed/craftsman/artisan Government employee Government Farmer Fisherman Shop owner Other Don’t know Domestic worker Go to school Household work/care for members trade Petty sellers Livestock/poultry None 8 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 9 15 16 10 11 12 13 14 (12) Nargis? What was the main activity that [NAME] did before the main activity What was ASK ONLY IF PERSON IS 15 YEARS OLD OR OLDER ONLY ASK Day labor/casual labour Day Group labour (boss or member) Salt producer Self employed/craftsman/artisan Government employee Government Farmer Fisherman Shop owner Other Don’t know Domestic worker Go to school Household work/care for members trade Petty sellers Livestock/poultry None 1 2 3 4 5 6 (11) Buddhist Muslim Hindu Christian Other Don’t know What is the religion of [NAME]? 4 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 (10) Kachin Myanmar Shan Chin Kayah Mon Kayin Rakhine Mixed Other What is the of ethnicity [NAME]? (9) IF YES, IF YES, ID CODE ID CODE RECORD THE Does the natural mother of [NAME] in this live household? (8) IF YES, IF YES, ID CODE ID CODE RECORD THE Does the father natural of [NAME] in this live household? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 77 (9) YES 1 NO 2 Has [NAME] had a fever in the last 14 days? 7 8 3 4 5 6 2 1 3rd (8) 2nd 1st Home remedy No treatment Gave special foods to child Gave therapy rehydration Oral Other (specify) or stop breastfeeding Reduce Reduced food or liquid given to child food or liquid given Reduced “How did you treat [NAME’S] diarrhoea? “How did you THREE METHODS” LIST UP TO to child Increased food or drink given (7) YES 1 NO 2>>9 Did [NAME] exerience diarrhoea during the last 14 days? (6) YES 1 NO 2 IS BILATERAL PITTING OEDEMA PRESENT? CHILDREN WHO ARE SUFFICIENT HEIGHT OR LENGTH (25 to 43 INs) (5) YELLOW 2 YELLOW GREEN 3 RED 1 MEASURE MEASURE THE CHILD’S MID UPPER ARM CIRCUM- FERENCE ON THE LEFT ARM AND WRITE DOWN THE RANGE IN WHICH THE MEASUREMENT IS FOUND (4) YES 1 NO>>11 2 COMPARE COMPARE THE HEIGHT (OR LENGTH) CHILD THE OF THE TO MEASURING POLE. DETERMINE IF THE CHILD'S HEIGHT (OR LENGTH) IS BETWEEN THE TWO MARKS. (b) YES 1 NO 2 Solid or semi-solid (mushy) foods (3) (a) YES 1 NO 2 Any other Any liquids Since yesterday, did Since yesterday, of any [NAME] receive the following? O D u l E (2) m YES 1 NO 2 Is [NAME] currently being breastfed? CHILDREN 6 MONTHS OLD OR YOUNGER h i l D (1) NAME Write the Write name of any child who is old 15 years or less and currently living in the household from the in the Roster corresponding line with their ID Code from the Roster I E C D D O 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 mODulE 2: c 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 (13) What is the main activity that [NAME] does now? What is the main activity ASK ONLY IF PERSON IS 15 YEARS OLD OR OLDER ONLY ASK Day labor/casual labour Day Group labour (boss or member) Salt producer Self employed/craftsman/artisan Other Government employee Government Farmer Fisherman Shop owner Don’t know Domestic worker Go to school Household work/care for members trade Petty sellers Livestock/poultry None 8 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 9 15 16 10 11 12 13 14 (12) Nargis? What was the main activity that [NAME] did before the main activity What was ASK ONLY IF PERSON IS 15 YEARS OLD OR OLDER ONLY ASK Day labor/casual labour Day Group labour (boss or member) Salt producer Self employed/craftsman/artisan Government employee Government Farmer Fisherman Shop owner Other Don’t know Domestic worker Go to school Household work/care for members trade Petty sellers Livestock/poultry None 1 2 3 4 5 6 (11) Buddhist Muslim Hindu Christian Other Don’t know What is the religion of [NAME]? 4 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 (10) Kachin Myanmar Shan Chin Kayah Mon Kayin Rakhine Mixed Other What is the of ethnicity [NAME]? (9) IF YES, IF YES, ID CODE ID CODE RECORD THE Does the natural mother of [NAME] in this live household? (8) IF YES, IF YES, ID CODE ID CODE RECORD THE Does the father natural of [NAME] in this live household? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 feet feet No = 2 >> 7 No = 2 >> 11 No = 2 >> 15 No = 2 >> 3 Yes = 1 Yes = 1 Yes feet by feet by feet by Yes = 1 Yes Yes = 1 Yes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 (6) (10) If there was a reduction in acres cultivated, a reduction in acres cultivated, If there was what is the main reason for reduction? Land spoiled (salt) Damage to drainage Not enough labor Lack of seeds Lack of fertilizer/pesticides Lack of farm tools damaged/lost Trees Other If there is a reduction in [ITEM], what the main reason for the reduction? spoiled water Pond Sold Loaned to other Other (5) (9) ACRES How many acres How many in cultivate did you [CROP] this season plan to or do you cultivate? How many [ITEM] How many before have did you Nargis? (4) (8) ACRES How many acres How many in cultivate did you [CROP] this season plan to or do you cultivate? How many [ITEM] do How many now? have you i s h E R i E s /F i v E s t O c k /l g R i c u l t u R E Is anyone in your household able to cultivate crops now or household able to cultivate in your Is anyone crops before Nargis? able to cultivate anyone was Monsoon paddy Summer paddy crops Perennial before Nargis? any you have ponds now or did sh or crab fi any have Do you What is the size of your current home garden? of your What is the size home garden before Nargis? of your the size What was Fish ponds ponds Crab before Nargis? livestock have now or did you livestock any have Do you Does your household have a home gardennow or did it have one before Nargis? a home gardennow or did it have household have Does your (3) (7) (2) (2a) (11) (1) mODulE 8: A
Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 78 1 2 (16) Has [NAME’s] Has [NAME’s] parent or guardian in been involved Teacher the Parent Association in the last 6 months? child YES NO >> Next 1 2 (15) Does [NAME’s] Does [NAME’s] a school have Teacher Parent Association? YES NO >> Next child (14) 1 TO 11 1 TO THE ACCEPTABLE ANSWER WILL BE FROM WRITE DOWN THE CLASS What class does [NAME] attend? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 CHILDREN 5 TO 15 YEARS OLD CHILDREN 5 TO (13) NEXT CHILD What is the main reason that [NAME] does not attend school? Child not interested not interested Parents Education costs Required to work Required Child is sick/disabled Childs looks after others in household School too far away No school Other (specify) 2 1 (12) Does [NAME] attend school? NO YES >>14 (11) CHILDREN 2 TO 4 YEARS OLD CHILDREN 2 TO Does [NAME] go to a place specially for children to learn, of?care taken be to or play, to NO 2 YES 1 (10) Has [NAME] been an injection given against measles? NO 2 YES 1 I E C D D O 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 79
MODULE 3 :Food Se c u r i t y
(1) PLEASE TELL ME HOW MANY DAYS IN THE PAST 7 DAYS YOU OR ANY MEMBER OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD ATE THE FOLLOWING FOODS
(EXCLUDE FOODS PURCHASED AND EATEN OUTSIDE OF THE HOME) Write the number of days Food Group Examples from 0 to 7 A. CEREALS bread, noodles, biscuits, cookies or any other foods made from millet, sorghum, maize, rice, wheat
B. VITAMIN A RICH VEGETABLES AND pumpkin, carrots, squash, sweet potato, broccoli TUBERS
C. WHITE TUBERS AND ROOTS white potatoes, kohlrabi, arrowroot, casava (tapioca), yams, radishes
D. DARK GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES spinach, mustard greens, chinese kale, morning glory, pickle tea leaves
E. OTHER VEGETABLES tomoatoes, cucumber, lettuce, onion, cabbage, green herbs, red beet, and other vegetables including wild ones F. VITAMIN A RICH FRUITS watermelon, peaches, apricots, oranges, papaya, mango
G. OTHER FRUITS AND DRIED FRUITS pomelo, mangosteen, apples, banana
H. FLESH MEATS beef, port, lamb, goat, rabbit, wild game, chicken, duck, or other birds
I. ORGAN MEAT (IRON RICH) liver, kidney, heart or other organ meats or blood-based foods
J. EGGS
K. FISH fresh or dried fish or shellfish, prawns, shrimp
L. LEGUMES, NUTS, SEEDS beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, grams, cashew, groundnuts, nuts, seeds, or foods made from these
M. MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS butter, yogurt, ice cream and other products made with milk.
N. OILS AND FATS oils, fats, or butter added to food or used for cooking
O. SWEETS sugar, sugar cane, jaggery, honey, sweetened soda or sugary foods such as chocolates, sweets or candies
P. SPICES, CONDIMENTS, BEVERAGES spices (black pepper, salt), condiments (soy sauce, hot sauce), coffee, tea, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages
(2) DID ANYONE IN THE HOUSEHOLD EAT ANYTHING (MEAL OR SNACK) OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSEHOLD IN THE LAST 7 DAYS?
YES 1 No 2 (3) In the past 7 days, on average, how many meals and snacks did your household eat each day?
(4) In the past 7 days, did you have less than enough food for your household? YES 1 NO >>7 2 (5) How often did this happen? (1-3 TIMES) 1 (4-6 TIMES) 2 Every day 3 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 80
(6) How often did you do the following when your household did not have enough food during the last 7 days? Never 0 1-3 days a week 1 4-6 days a week 2 Every day 3 CHOSE LESS EXPENSIVE FOOD CHOSE FOOD THAT YOU USUALLY DO NOT EAT EAT LESS IN THE MAIN MEAL THAN NORMAL EAT FEWER MEALS PER DAY BORROWING FOOD OR BUYING FOOD ON CREDIT GOT SUPPORT FROM FRIENDS AND RELATIVES SOME MEMBERS OF HOUSEHOLD WENT WITHOUT MEALS (7) What are the 3 most important sources of food for your household during the last 7 days?
WRITE “1” FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT, “2” FOR THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT AND “3” FOR THE THIRD MOST IMPORTANT Own production Gift from family Purchases Borrow/credit/advance (money) Pre-harvest advance (food) Exchange items for food Exchange work for food (not food aid) Food for work (food aid) UN / INGO food aid Government food aid Local NGO / CBO (not faith based) Faith based organization Other Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 81
MODULE 4: Wa t er a n d Sa n i t a t i o n
(1) What is the main source of drinking water for your dwelling?
PIPED WATER INTO DWELLING 1 >>4
PIPED WATER TO YARD/PLOT 2 >>4
PUBLIC TAP/STANDPIPE 3
TUBEWELL/BOREHOLE 4
PROTECTED DUG WELL 5
UNPROTECTED DUG WELL 6
PROTECTED SPRING 7
UNPROTECTED SPRING 8
RAINWATER COLLECTION 9
BOTTLED WATER 10 >>4
CART WITH SMALL TANK/DRUM 11 >>4
TANKER TRUCK 12 >>4
SURFACE WATER 13
OTHER (SPECIFY ______) 14
(2) Is the drinking water source within the compound?
YES 1
NO 2
(3) How long does it take to go there, get water and come back?
Number of minutes
If do not know, write “99”
(4) Do you treat your water in any way to make it safer to drink?
YES 1
NO 2 >>7
(5) Which of these methods do you use to make the water safe CHECK AL L THAT APPLY for drinking? YES 1 NO 2
BOIL
ADD BLEACH/CHLORINE
STRAIN IT THROUGH A CLOTH
USE WATER FILTER (CERAMIC, SAND, ETC)
SOLAR DISINFECTION
LET IT STAND AND SETTLE
OTHER (SPECIFY ______)
DON’T KNOW
(6) When was the last time you used one of these methods to make your water safer to drink?
TODAY 1
YESTERDAY 2
THIS WEEK 3
THIS MONTH 4
SEVERAL MONTHS AGO 5
OTHER (Specify ______) 6 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 82
(7) What is the main source of water used by your household for other purposes, such as coooking and hand washing?
PIPED WATER INTO DWELLING 1 PIPED WATER TO YARD/PLOT 2 PUBLIC TAP/STANDPIPE 3 TUBEWELL/BOREHOLE 4 PROTECTED DUG WELL 5 UNPROTECTED DUG WELL 6 PROTECTED SPRING 7 UNPROTECTED SPRING 8 RAINWATER COLLECTION 9 CART WITH SMALL TANK/DRUM 10 TANKER TRUCK 11 SURFACE WATER 12 OTHER (SPECIFY ______) 13
(8) Who in your household has the main responsibility for fetching the water used for your household?
Probe: Is this person under age 15 years? What sex? Circle the code that best describes this person
Adult woman 1 Adult man 2 Female child (under 15 years) 3 Male child (under 15 years) 4 Don’t know 5
(9) What kind, and how many, types of storage containers does your household have to store drinking water?
type How many How many How many How many does the have a have a gallons household sealable tap? does each have? lid? one store?
Clay pots
Buckets
Jerry cans
Tin cans
Barrels (concrete)
Barrels (wood)
Barrels (others)
Other (specify) Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 83
(10) What kind of toilet facilities are in your dwelling?
Flush/pour flush to:
Piped sewer system 1
Septic tank 2
Pit latrine 3
Elsewhere 4
Unknown place/not sure/don't know 5
Ventilated improved pit latrine (VIP) 6
Pit latrine with slab 7
Pit latrine without slab/open pit 8
Composting toilet 9
Bucket 10
Hanging toilet/hanging latrine 11
No facilities or bush or field 12 >> 13
Other (specify) 13
(11) Do you share this facility with other households?
YES 1 NO 2 >>13
(12) How many other households share this toilet?
(13) The last time your youngest child passed stools, what was done to dispose of the stools?
CHILD USED TOILET/LATRINE 1
PUT/RINSED INTO TOILET OR LATRINE 2
PUT/RINSED INTO DRAIN OR DITCH 3
THROWN INTO GARBAGE 4
ASK ONLY IF THERE ARE CHILDREN BURIED 5 LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD IN THE HOUSEHOLD LEFT IN OPEN 6
OTHER (Specify ______) 7
DON'T KNOW 8
NO CHILDREN UNDER 5 IN HOUSEHOLD 9 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 84
(14) What methods do you use to dispose of solid waste in your household? MULTIPLE ANSWERS ALLOWED
BURN 1
BURY IN YARD 2
COMPOST 3
SCAVENGERS COLLECT 4
NEIGHBOURHOOD WASTE 5
COLLECTION & LOCAL DISPOSAL
THROW IN OWN YARD 6
THROW IN THE STREET 7
THROW IN RIVER/STREAM 8
OTHER (Specify ______) 9
(15) Is there a bar of soap in the household?
YES 1
NO 2 >>NEXT MODULE
(16) Does the person who cooks the meals for the household wash his/her hands before preparing the food?
YES 1
NO 2 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 85
MODULE 5: Hea l t h
1. How long does it take you to travel to the nearest health post/clinic?
Number of minutes
If don’t know, write “99”
2. Do you use the nearest health post/clinic?
Yes 1 >>4
No 2
3. What is the main reason you do not use the nearest
Wait time to see personnel too long 1
Usually no medicines available 2
Facility not open every day 3
Facility not clean 4
Facility has no equipment 5
Have to pay too much for the services 6
Prefer to use traditional healer 7
Use our own remedies for health problems 8
Other (specify) 9
4. On average, how long do you wait before being seen by medical personnel?
Number of minutes
If don’t know, write “99”
5. How often are medicines and drugs available at the health post/clinic?
All the time 1
Most of the time 2
Some of the time 3
Never 4
6. Is there a official village health worker in this village?
Yes 1
No 2 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 86
MODULE 6: Ho u s i n g
(1) What is the major construction material of the external walls? Sticks & thatch/bamboo and palm leaves 1 Tarpaulin/polytarp 2 Mud/ wattle and daub 3 Wood 4 Bricks/blocks/concrete 5 DIRECT OBSERVATION Tin/Zinc 6 Mud 7 Banboo 8 Canvas, felt 9 Other (Specify) 10 (2) What is the major material of the roof? Sticks & thatch/bamboo and palm leaves/Dhani 1 Tarpaulin/polytarp 2 Solid wood 3 Tiles 4 Shingles 5 DIRECT OBSERVATION Metal, tin or CGI 6 Asbestos 7 Plastic sheeting 8 Other (Specify) 9 (3) What is the primary material of the floor? Parquet 1 Wood 2 Tile 3 Concrete 4 DIRECT OBSERVATION Clay/earthern floor 5 Other (Specify) 6 (4) Does the dwelling have any of the following features? OBSERVATION MARK ALL THAT APPLY YES = 1 NO = 2
Dwelling built on raised ground A wind break of trees or other plants Shorter side of the dwelling faces windward direction High gable roof or hip roof Water tight roof able to harvest rainwater Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 87
(5) What type of dwelling is it? Detached house 1 Multi-family house 2 Apartment 3 Several connected buildings 4 Several separate buildings 5 Other (Specify) 6 (6) Do you feel that is it safe to leave your belongings in your house when you leave?
YES 1 NO 2
(7) Is this dwelling owned by a member of your household
YES 1 >>9 NO 2
(8) Is the dwelling where this household lives:
Rented 1 Temporary shelter, paid or not paid 2
(9) Do you live in the same dwelling or compound that you lived in prior to Nargis?
YES 1 NO 2 >> 11
(10) Have you done major construction on your dwelling, or replaced the entire dwelling with a new building since Nargis?
YES 1 NO 2
(11) Do you want to return to where you lived before Nargis?
YES 1 NO 2
(12) Was the dwelling you lived in before Nargis owned by a member of your household?
YES 1 >>14 NO 2 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 88
(13) Was the dwelling you lived in before Nargis:
Rented 1 Temporary shelter, paid or not paid 2
(14) Do you think the dwelling is better, the same or worse than the dwelling you lived in before Nargis?
Better 1 The same 2 Worse 3
(15) Is your current house more crowded than before Nargis?
YES 1 NO 2
(16) Is your current house hotter than before Nargis?
YES 1 NO 2
(17) Does anyone in your household have another house?
YES 1 NO 2 >> 19
(18) Is this current house the strongest house of all the houses your household has? YES 1 NO 2
(19) How many rooms is the sleeping area of the dwelling divided into?
(20) During the rainy season was this dwelling as dry as the dwelling you lived in before Nargis?
YES 1 NO 2
(21) Is this dwelling raised far enough above the ground to avoid flooding?
YES 1 NO 2 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 89
(22) Will this dwelling need improvements or maintenance during the next 18 months?
YES 1 NO 2
(23) Does anyone living in your dwelling have the skills to make needed repairs to the dwelling?
YES 1 NO 2
(24) Do any members of the community have the skills to make needed repairs to the dwelling?
YES 1 NO 2
(25) Is there a safe building within 1/2 mile from your dwelling where you can go in a big storm?
YES 1 NO 2
(26) What are the three main sources of income for the household at this time? (Do not read the list)
Fishing 1 Agriculture (includes livestock/poultry/eggs) 2 Aquaculture (shrimp, prawn, crabs, etc) 3 Rent or lease of property 4 Salt production 5 Government employee 6 Private sector employee 7 Casual labour 8 Seasonal labour 9 Group labour (boss or member) 10 Treade/shopkeeper/village broker 11 Money sent by others 12 Self-employed/craftsman/artisan 13 Bar girl/massage/karaoke/entertainment 14 Savings 15 Borrowing (not microfinance) with collateral 16 Borrowing (not microfinance) without collateral 17 Microfinance initiative 18 Charcoal (manufacture & sale)/firewood 19 Forestry 20 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 90
Gifts/family 21 Pawning of assets 22 Sale of assets 23 Other (specify) 24
(27) What were the three main sources of income for the household before Cyclone Nargis? (Do not read the list)
Fishing 1 Agriculture (includes livestock/poultry/eggs) 2 Aquaculture (shrimp, prawn, crabs, etc) 3 Rent or lease of property 4 Salt production 5 Government employee 6 Private sector employee 7 Casual labour 8 Seasonal labour 9 Group labour (boss or member) 10 Treade/shopkeeper/village broker 11 Money sent by others 12 Self-employed/craftsman/artisan 13 Bar girl/massage/karaoke/entertainment 14 Savings 15 Borrowing (not microfinance) with collateral 16 Borrowing (not microfinance) without collateral 17 Microfinance initiative 18 Charcoal (manufacture & sale)/firewood 19 Forestry 20 Gifts/family 21 Pawning of assets 22 Sale of assets 23 Other (specify) 24 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 91
MODULE 7: Re l i ef Pro g ra m s
1. Has anyone in this household received relief items since Nargis?
Yes 1
No 2 >> 3
2. What kinds of relief items has your household received?
More than one can be marked. If the household has received the item, write “1” in the box.
DO NOT READ THE LIST. LET THE RESPONDENT SAY WHAT HAS BEEN RECEIVED.
Seeds
Agricultural chemicals/fertililzer
Agricultural machinery
Agricultural equipment
Fishing equipment/boat with or without power
Livestock/poultry
Construction tools
Household items
Student kits/learning packs
Food
Water
Shelter/housing materials
Bednets
Soap/hygiene kit
Jerry can/bucket/water container of any type
Clothes
Personal items
Fuel
Medicine
Dignity Kits
Other
3. Are there any local organizations working in this community?
Yes 1
No 2 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 92 feet feet No = 2 >> 11 No = 2 >> 7 No = 2 >> 15 No = 2 >> 3 = 1 Yes Yes = 1 Yes Yes = 1 Yes feet by feet by feet by Yes = 1 Yes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 (6) (10) Other If there was a reduction in acres cultivated, a reduction in acres cultivated, If there was what is the main reason for reduction? Land spoiled (salt) Damage to drainage Not enough labor Lack of seeds Lack of fertilizer/pesticides Lack of farm tools damaged/lost Trees If there is a reduction in [ITEM], what the main reason for the reduction? spoiled water Pond Sold Loaned to other Other (9) (5) ACRES How many acres How many in cultivate did you [CROP] this season plan to or do you cultivate? How many [ITEM] How many before have did you Nargis? (8) (4) ACRES How many acres How many in cultivate did you [CROP] this season plan to or do you cultivate? How many [ITEM] do How many now? have you i s h E R i E s /F i v E s t O c k /l g R i c u l t u R E Monsoon paddy Summer paddy crops Perennial before Nargis? any you have ponds now or did sh or crab fi any have Do you Is anyone in your household able to cultivate crops now or household able to cultivate in your Is anyone crops before Nargis? able to cultivate anyone was Fish ponds ponds Crab before Nargis? livestock have now or did you livestock any have Do you What is the size of your current home garden? of your What is the size home garden before Nargis? of your the size What was Does your household have a home gardennow or did it have one before Nargis? a home gardennow or did it have household have Does your (7) (3) (11) (2) (2a) (1) mODulE 8: A 1 2 (16) Has [NAME’s] Has [NAME’s] parent or guardian in been involved Teacher the Parent Association in the last 6 months? child YES NO >> Next 1 2 (15) Does [NAME’s] Does [NAME’s] a school have Teacher Parent Association? YES NO >> Next child (14) 1 TO 11 1 TO THE ACCEPTABLE ANSWER WILL BE FROM WRITE DOWN THE CLASS What class does [NAME] attend? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 CHILDREN 5 TO 15 YEARS OLD CHILDREN 5 TO (13) NEXT CHILD What is the main reason that [NAME] does not attend school? Child not interested not interested Parents Education costs Required to work Required Child is sick/disabled Childs looks after others in household School too far away No school Other (specify) 2 1 (12) Does [NAME] attend school? NO YES >>14 (11) CHILDREN 2 TO 4 YEARS OLD CHILDREN 2 TO Does [NAME] go to a place specially for children to learn, of?care taken be to or play, to NO 2 YES 1 (10) Has [NAME] been an injection given against measles? NO 2 YES 1 I E C D D O 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 93 No = 2 >> next section Yes = 1 Yes 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 (14) (18) Sold Loaned to someone Damaged/needs repair Other If there is a reduction in [ITEM], what the main reason for reduction? Destroyed If there is a reduction in the number of [ANIMAL], what is the main reason for reduction? Animals died Animals sold Animals eaten Lost Don't know Other (13) (17) How many [ITEM] How many before have did you Nargis? How many [ANIMAL] How many before have did you Nargis? (12) (16) How many [ITEM] How many now? have do you How many [ANIMAL] How many now? have do you Offshore/deep water boats Offshore/deep water Inshore boats boats (with or without power) River Other boats Fishing nets Chickens Ducks, geese, mun-dar-lee Milk cows Cattle Buffalo Donkeys/horses Goats Pigs shing equipment before fi any you have shing equipment now or did fi any have Do you Nargis? (15) Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 94
MODULE 9: Du ra b l e Good s
Does anyone in your “Yes = 1 “Did anyone in your “Do you consider it household own the following No = 2” household own the good necesary to obtain this item goods? prior to Nargis? as soon as possible? Yes = 1 Yes = 1 No = 2 >> next item” No = 2”
1 Bed
2 Blankets, bedding
3 Table
4 Chair
5 Fan
6 Radio
7 Television
8 Sewing machine
9 Stove
10 Refrigerator
11 Bicycle
12 Motorcycle
13 Car
14 Boat/canoe
15 Fishing net
16 Clock
17 Wheelbarrow
18 Hoe
19 Ax
20 Dishes/eating utensils
21 Cooking utensils Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 95
MODULE 10: Need s
What are the three most important needs that your household has today?
(Do not read out the list.)
Agricultural inputs Rank
Animal feed / fodder
Clothing
Cooking utensils
Credit / microfinance / credit unions
Dishes/eating utensils
Education
Employment
Fishery inputs
Food
Healthcare / drugs / medicine
Household items
Livestock (including fowl)
Salt industry inputs
Shelter (including materials and labour)
Sleeping mats/bednets/blankets
Veterinary inputs
Water
Other (specify) Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 96
3.1.3 Qu a l i t a t i v e m e t h odo l o g y In-depth qualitative data was collected in a directed manner using a 'plug-in' approach. This data relates to the protection of women and children using a series of closed and open questions. The working assumption of the vulnerability assessment instrument is that, if people are unable to benefit from outside assistance after Cyclone Nargis, and if customary rules of cooperation are not working, then levels of vulnerability increase. A total of 349 households were interviewed as part of the qualitative plug-in.
The inclusion of the plug-in assessment with a quantitative household survey was a mixed-methods approach. Although such approaches are widely used in social science research, they have not previously been used in disaster and post-disaster relief contexts due to the significant logistical and organisational requirements.
The purpose of the qualitative investigation was to use household survey data to understand how internationally recognised indicators of potential vulnerability are expressed at the level of lived experience. It also provides concrete examples or 'stories' of risk categories that were quantified in filter sets that were measured by the day-filter and to function as a verification instrument for day-filter sets.
A day-filter of queries was applied to the quantitative survey data at the end of each day during the quantitative data-entry period. The queries defined the criteria for revisiting households for further investigation. The set of case-definitions used are related to the protection of women and children.
In addition, adaptive sampling techniques were used to identify households that were not included in the quantitative survey. There was also some variation in the criteria for selecting communities from the quantitative survey as some communities were selected for their remoteness.
The filter set contained standardised indicators for domains of risk, but they did not in themselves constitute all potential, culture-specific risk categories. The filter set used is set out below.
1. Household with malnourished child.
2. Household with school-age child not attending school.
3. Household with reduced (i.e., compared to before Nargis) utilisation of land.
4. Household with children living in sub-standard accommodation.
5. Female-headed household with young children.
6. Household in which main (domestic) carer is male.
7. Household in which the main carer is less than 18 years old.
8. Household in which the main carer is a grandparent.
9. Household that consists of members of different pre-Nargis households.
10. Household with an adolescent girl who is unrelated to the head of household.
The qualitative instrument builds upon data that is both technical (e.g. definitions of malnutrition, reduced utilisation of land, and sub-standard accommodation) and empirical (e.g. female-headed households with young children and households in which the main carer is a grandparent). It was therefore necessary to identify households through cooperation between the quantitative enumerators and qualitative fieldworkers. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 97
Su m m ar y of Qu a l i t a t i v e In v e s t i g a t i o n The qualitative investigation for the TCG Periodic Review uses information from the large-scale household survey for the Periodic Review to identify categories of vulnerability to which closed and open-ended interview protocols for assessing vulnerability are applied.
The focus of the intervention is primarily the protection of women and children. However, in that women and children are made vulnerable in natural disasters by circumstances often unrelated to age or gender, the qualitative survey focuses on the functioning of the formal aid institutions and indigenous social networks before, during, and after Cyclone Nargis.
Information about the functioning of these aid institutions and social networks is then gathered by employing recognised categories of vulnerability for women and children to identify informants from the household survey. Information on vulnerable populations is also gathered by employing new categories of vulnerability identified through additional case histories documented during the qualitative research process.
Qu a l i t a t i v e i n s t r u m e n t (v u l n era b i l i t y s u r v e y ) The qualitative investigation for this project was carried out over approximately a two-week period in November 2008. Insofar as possible, this qualitative investigation followed the pattern of sites selected for the quantitative household survey, which mapped the cyclone-affected region into 113 contiguous hexagons. Household survey enumerators worked out of four 'hubs'. Each hub was assigned a qualitative hub leader, an English-speaking translator (sometimes the same as the hub leader), and two or three additional fieldworkers.
Prior to departure from the capital, Yangon, all fieldworkers received basic training in the use of the questionnaire, including an extended session in which filter categories were discussed in detail, with examples provided of each. Eighteen part-time and full-time fieldworkers were trained over a two- day period. Emphasis was placed on recording detailed narratives, not on the quantity of interviews completed.
St r u c t u re of i n q u i r y Use of the day-filter system developed specifically for the rapid identification of vulnerable households, allowed for a speedy qualitative response to the entry of quantitative information from the household survey. Because the day-filter allows for case-definitions of vulnerability to be run on data as it is entered, workers in the future can employ this system to begin informed and directed qualitative fieldwork almost immediately.
Even though the relative importance of particular case definitions cannot be quantified accurately until all household survey data has been entered, a case definition that is strongly represented (for post-Nargis efforts, for instance, a ‘household with reduced utilisation of land’, or a ‘household with children living in sub-standard accommodation’) emerged within the first day or two of data entry. This system allows for far better focused disaster response than relief efforts managed autonomously by governmental, non-governmental, or UN organisations.
The system also allows for more efficient identification of households earmarked for revisiting, and for the development of an integrated tactical use of human resources in the field for identifying and responding to the needs of vulnerable populations following a natural disaster.
The approach employed in the utilisation of fieldworkers and other related post-disaster human resources involved two primary stages of response. In Stage I—that is, the period of a few days immediately following the initial of entry of household survey data—the field teams focused on gathering sample qualitative surveys for each of the 10 case filters. Focusing immediately on the examinations of case filters serves the urgent purpose in disaster and post-disaster assessments of understanding how general categories of vulnerability are locally expressed. Doing so also allows for some judgement to be made regarding the nature and prevalence of diverse human needs. In one village, for instance, where the household survey identified a dominant problem with school- age children not attending school, the qualitative research team quickly identified households expressing 7 of the 10 risk categories used in the household survey as filter sets. Stage I, in other Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 98 words, functions both as a means of addressing local, cultural expressions of need, but also as a reconnaissance tool for gathering information about the strength of case filters and the extent of human need in disaster and post-disaster relief efforts.
At the conclusion of Stage I — as soon as all categories were sampled in the four hub locations and their surveys were submitted for translation—qualitative fieldworkers immediately shifted their attention to Stage II. In this stage the focus of the qualitative survey turned towards identifying and recording case histories based on the demographic distribution of human need in disaster-affected areas. In Stage II of the qualitative vulnerability survey project, fieldworkers divided into smaller groups of two, or worked individually. This change in research strategy allowed for fieldworkers to visit remote villages. The focus of Stage II of the qualitative intervention was to gather detailed case histories across the entire demographic range of cyclone-affected regions. As the severity of natural disasters are always variably experienced, these researchers, now sensitised to the exigencies of life in disaster-affected areas, were able to gather information from both isolated and so-called ‘new’ villages composed of resettled, post-disaster inhabitants. The combination of this two-stage research technique allowed both for a rapid assessment of need and enough detailed accounts to venture an educated assessment of how relief and post-disaster resources might best be utilised in the context of the Cyclone-affected area of Myanmar.
3.1.4 Qu a l i t a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t t oo l s The qualitative vulnerability assessment instrument was composed of a series of closed and open questions in three general domains.
The first domain of inquiry within the qualitative vulnerability assessment instrument examined formal kinds of post-disaster assistance. Formal [F] domains of inquiry included:
[F1] Nature of assistance received (which Government agencies, UN agengies, international NGOs, or local NGOs?)
[F2] Period (when?)
[F3] Duration of effect (temporary or long-term?)
[F4] Type (kind of assistance provided?)
[F5] Needs met?
[F5] Needs not met?
[F6] Equality of access?
Levels of vulnerability are identified by the presence or absence of formal assistance, and, where present [F1], the details of its implementation and effects [F2-F6].
Community domains examine indigenous community structures, modes of cooperation, resilience, and mutability. Community [C] domains of inquiry included:
[C1] Nature of community cooperation (presence or absence?)
[C2] Customary rules (Do they exist? What are they? Compliance?)
[C3] Duration of effect (Temporary or long-term?)
[C4] New forms?
[C5] Equality of access?
[C6] Sustainability (Will they grow or continue? How can we promote sustainability?) Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 99
Vulnerability domains examine of perceptions of vulnerability. Vulnerability [V] domains of inquiry included:
[V1] Identifying the vulnerable (who suffered most?)
[V2] Nature of vulnerability (kind of vulnerability?)
[V3] Coping (patterns altered?)
[V4] Normal or calamity (kind of coping?)
3.1.5 Qu a l i t a t i v e re s u l t s The results presented here are a preliminary report that, at the time of writing, is based upon incomplete data analysis, therefore not wholly representative of its long-term findings. It attempts to identify general domains of vulnerability that are prevalent in the evidence examined to date. In disaster settings the presentation of such qualified evidence becomes necessary in order to make better judgements at the level of relief aid and policy.
It is certainly the case that natural disasters by definition create circumstances where already disadvantaged individuals or social groups suffer disproportionately more than those whose lives are more secure. The purpose of this study is, therefore, less one of describing the worst scenarios or cases of unimaginable individual suffering, than of enhancing our understanding of how formal institutions and social networks respond to an unanticipated natural calamity that strains them to their limits—often breaking them completely, but sometimes also necessitating their reformulation in new and unexpected ways.
The names of people and villages used in this document are fictitious. They were changed to protect the identities of the people interviewed. Interviews were conducted in the Myanmar language and then translated into English.
Ca s e 1) Th aw t ar Kh i n Risk Category: 2 – Household with school-age child not attending school Risk Category: 4 – Household with children living in sub-standard accommodation
Thawtar Khin, a 22 year-old woman, and her two children moved to her parents’ house after she separated from her husband just before the Cyclone. Her father is U Ko Gyi, a 55 year-old day worker who has to work every day in order to maintain the family’s income while her mother is sick and bed-ridden. Before the Cyclone, the family got water and sold it to other people. Sometimes they made money by doing odd jobs. After the Cyclone, no one bought their water anymore and there were no offers for any odd jobs. Their lives have become very challenging.
Before the Cyclone, the family’s house was enough for the whole family to live in. But after the wind blew down the house, they did not have enough money to rebuild it. So instead they built a small tent in which all the members live. Since the tent is small it is quite crowded. Currently, Thawtar Khin’s mother is sick and the family does not have enough money to send her to a clinic. There is no doctor in the village and the nearest one is very far away, so they cannot send her. They could not afford to buy more food after the Cyclone destroyed their food stock in their house. Thawtar Khin has lost a lot of weight since she is also breast-feeding her two year old daughter.
Thawtar Khin’s 16 year-old brother helps the family by selling water around their community. Her 11 year-old sister just stays at home and helps her with the housework since they do not have money to send her to school. She said that when her sister grows up, she will ask her to get a job to support the family.
After waiting three months, the family got some assistance from an INGO. They received a bag of rice, a water tank, some mats, mosquito nets and some kitchenware. Thawtar Khin was very happy that these items helped her with her family’s needs. They lost their mosquito nets in the Cyclone and so were quite happy to get new ones. Although this help did not cover all their needs, the family was still happy to get it just when they needed it the most. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 100
Thawtar Khin also said, “We want to rebuild our home. The tent we built is not in good shape. The whole family is living in it and it may collapse. There’s a very big puddle with a bad smell nearby that makes the tent unliveable. I’m looking forward to the day when my children can attend a school. Right now food is our greatest need.”
Ca s e 2) Daw My a Se i n Risk Category: 3 – Household with reduced utilisation of land
When the Cyclone struck, most of the rice fields were ripe and about to be harvested. The fields were destroyed and people who owned many acres suffered a great loss. After the Cyclone, people who owned rice fields were left with no money to invest and no seeds to plant. Since landowners do not have money to start planting, casual workers also became jobless. They do not have any money to start other kinds of work. A lot of boats were also destroyed. Homes that were destroyed were only rebuilt for temporary use. Since agricultural workers cannot get back on their feet, they cannot rebuild their homes.
Daw Mya Sein lives in a village with her family of six, who work on a farm. She is 55 years old. All of her children have only primary-school education, though one of her grandsons is attending middle school. The family can only send one child to school. All the other family members work on the farm.
They planted 20 acres of paddy before the Cyclone. They were not in debt because their income matched their expenses, but now they can no longer plant or work on their farm after the Cyclone. In Daw Mya Sein’s village, the Cyclone destroyed most of the houses including hers. The crops were also ruined because they had not been harvested. The family cannot afford to plant paddy for the rainy-season crop. All the households in the village are in trouble now.
Daw Mya Sein’s family have received seeds and other assistance from an INGO to plant for the rainy- season crop, but it is not enough to cover all of the farm. They have had to borrow money from other people and pay the interest from their profit, meaning that they will not be able to get out of this debt easily. It will not be easy for them to go back to the way things were before the Cyclone. The family is always worried that things will never be as good as they were before the Cyclone.
One of Daw Mya Sein’s sisters has lent her money and the family has used the loan to plant betel. They will have to give half of their profits to the sister, meaning that the family business has become less profitable. They have not been able to repair their home yet, but only make some temporary repairs.
The family received farm assistance because they owned their own farm, though they were not eligible to receive food aid. They rely on other people to share their food with them. Their loss is substantial because of the size of the farm land they own. All the farming families have troubles. Day labourers are in trouble because farm owners have no work to give them.
The betel plants are now being attacked by insects. The family planted 1,500 plants a month ago and are worried everyday about them being infested. They used to be a happy family free of debt and worry. Even though Daw Mya Sein’s grandson is attending school, it is very difficult to support him. The family needs more help to stabilise their livelihood and return their lives to normal, as it was before the Cyclone.
Ca s e 3) Daw Th e t Th e t Swe Risk Category: 2 - Household with school-aged child not attending school
Daw Thet Thet Swe, a 41 year old woman has five children with a husband, who is a farm labourer. Her husband lives in a hut on the farm where he works and so was not available at the time of survey. He lives quite far away from the family home.
In front of the house is a big field where seedless and failed riceplants look like they are trying to survive under a very hot sun. Daw Thet Thet Swe said, “We do not know why the riceplants are like that, this is the first time we’ve seen that. We think it is from the Cyclone” Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 101
Her husband, who works the farm, has four main tasks that follow the four seasons. From April to July, he ploughs the fields and grows the rice. From July to November, he plants rice for the rainy season. From November to January, he harvests the riceplants, winnows it, and stores it in the barn. After that, he ploughs the field again for summer paddy during January to April. He can come back home only for a short while during these four periods. “He’s living there, working for them, and cannot come back here. We do not get to go to him either - we have not seen each other for quite a long time. Only when the Cyclone hit could he come back,” Daw Thet Thet Swe said with a faint smile.
When she was asked why the family did not join him in the field, she said, “Who will feed us? They feed only my husband, so I have to stay here with my five children,” pointing to her eldest son of 18, another of 15, two daughters of 13 and 8, and the youngest son of 4. She also added, “Just to feed them every day is so difficult, how can we send them to school? Before the Cyclone, we could still send two of them to school. After the Cyclone, we had to drop the middle daughter out of the school and made her help me make and sell food. Now we only have one child attending school.’’
Daw Thet Thet Swe meets the family’s needs by selling traditional and seasonal foods. Her eldest son used to work in a rice mill in the village as a day labourer. He lost his job for three months after the Cyclone knocked out the mill. Being a labourer, he has to carry rice from the field to the mill, winnow it, and clean it.
In order to plan their lives after the Cyclone, the family has borrowed money from a farm owner at high interest, about 60 per cent. They have to pay 60,000 kyat in interest when they borrow 100, 000. Her husband’s yearly wage is 50 baskets of paddy, which is equivalent to 200,000 kyat. Now they have to spend the high-interest loan and they will never be able to get out of the circle of debt – they are always in heavy debt. At the same time, her husband cannot give up being a day- labourer since he has better job security as a farm worker, and it is easier to borrow money or get wages in advance. Thus people in villages prefer to be farm labourers rather than casual labourers. Job scarcity for casual labourers has caused a lot of stress.
The family has received aid from two INGOs and two local NGOs, who provided some support to the family. They received tarpaulins from a local NGO, a kit of items for everyday use such as soap, tooth paste, kitchen utensils from one INGO, and a sack of rice from another INGO. This assistance was adequate, and they did not need to worry about their basic survival. Some of the aid was in the form of durable goods for use over the long-term, while others, like food and rice, covered only a certain period of time.
In Daw Thet Thet Swe’s opinion, the most vulnerable groups who suffered the most after the Cyclone, are the poorest in the village. Even though they have received support with materials to rebuild their homes, these people cannot finish because they cannot afford it. Since her husband is a farm labourer, Daw Thet Thet Swe’s family was able to borrow money from a land owner at high interest, but the family still cannot afford the cost of rebuilding the house. Without her husband, she is trying to solve her family’s everyday problems and trying to relieve their suffering while her husband is working away from home. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 102
Ca s e 4) Daw My i n t Th e i n Risk Category: 5 – Female-headed household with young children
A widow named Daw Myint Thein and her two sons of 24 and 17 live at the centre of a village near the bank of a canal. Their hut is built of bamboo and they use palm leaves for the roof. The height is too low for a grown person to stand up in and the hut is near foul-smelling mud and polluted water. The family stated that the house they are living in was built with the generous help of their village.
Daw Myint Thein’s husband died two years before the Cyclone, when her family lived in a house her husband had built made of wood and bamboo. During the Cyclone, the whole house was washed away and they had to run for their lives and take shelter at a monastery. The place where they had lived their lives full of pride and joy had turned into a devastated hovel overnight.
From the Cyclone, the family’s living conditions is not the only thing that has changed - their health and income was affected as well. When the Cyclone washed their home away, it also carried away everything they ever owned, including the money which Daw Myint Thein invested to sell vegetables. Once a very proud widow, now she has nothing left to invest and therefore her eldest son has to do heavy work at the ricemill carrying ricebags and other heavy items. He got injured, with his spinal column getting compressed from this hard work. Her younger son, who is just 17, therefore had to quit school and do the same kind of work as his brother for the family to survive.
The family got support from the Government and from INGOs. Two months after the Cyclone they received some donations, but these were not enough for the long run. Nevertheless, the family is very grateful for these items, such as tarpaulin sheets to cover the roof, pots, longyis (a woman’s garment) and mats from an INGO, as well as rice and cooking oil from the Government. They hope they can get more of these items so they can get back on their feet again soon.
Daw Myint Thein stated that while the Cyclone may have destroyed their home and changed her family’s conditions, it cannot destroy their spirits. She hopes she gets a chance to get back to the way things were before the Cyclone, when she was selling things. To do that she hopes for the day when she can get a small amount of money to reinvest to get back on her feet.
Ca s e 5) U Kh i n Moe Risk Category: 3 – Household with reduced utilisation of land
U Khin Moe is a community leader who lives in the eastern part of Kun Chan Village. He has a big wooden house with a galvanised-iron roof. He and his wife have 7 sons, though 4 of the elder sons are married and live separately.
Ten years ago, U Khin Moe was only a daily-wage worker and did not own any land. Through hard work and good management, he bought one paddy field after another. He now owns 40 acres of paddy fields. His sons show their father respect since he has raised them very well. Before the Cyclone, U Khin Moe’s business was going well and everyone in the village respected him.
The villagers therefore asked him to be the Chairman of the Committee for Providing Electricity to the Village. Through his efforts, the village was able to set up electric poles for electricity to be brought to their village. People who owned farm land donated 300,000 - 500,000 kyats. Some even borrowed money at interest in order to pay their share. It was only a matter of days - 10 to be precise - until the village would get electricity when the Cyclone struck and destroyed everything in its path, including the electric poles and cables. It also destroyed U Khin Moe’s farm lands. Now he can only manage to cultivate 28 of his 40 acres. The remaining 12 acres are infertile.
U Khin Moe shared his experiences about the night when the Cyclone struck his village. He was not worried since his house was big and strong. As the night grew darker, the water level reached 3 feet. Right then a house nearby was about to collapse and so the family of 5 living there came rushing into his home seeking shelter. Waiting for the wind to calm down and the water to subside, the whole family and the neighbours taking refuge with them stayed up the whole night. The next day, they all found many huts that had collapsed. U Khin Moe’s house only suffered damage to a small part of the roof, where some of the galvanised iron sheets were torn. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 103
He was heartbroken when he saw that the electric poles had fallen down. He got really worried about what the community would think of him, and what people who had borrowed money to contribute to the project would say. It was too much for him when he saw that his paddy fields were destroyed. He could not sleep or eat. He was found walking in the village at night talking gibberish to himself. When the village became aware of his situation, they were really worried and arranged medical treatment for him. They took him to see psychiatric specialists in Yangon 3 months ago. Through the support the community gave him and the treatment he has received for the last 3 months, he was able to recover. He is now recovered and slowly talked about his experiences during the Cyclone.
The Cyclone caused 43 causalities in this village. Relief assistance such as paddy seeds, fertilizers, machines, and household goods provided by the Government and INGOs, were helpful to the villagers.
Ca s e 6) U Hl a Soe Risk Category: 4 – Household with children living in sub-standard accommodation
U Hla Soe and his family lost their home in a Township in Yangon Division during the Cyclone. They could not afford to rebuild in the same place and so moved in to share with relatives in his grandmother’s house in the same Township. Now nine family members have to survive together in this tiny hut.
The main income-earner of this household is his daughter, Daw Chit, who works as a cook for a soccer team near their house. She earns 500 kyats per day and gets extra rice and food items, which she usually brings home to share with other members of the family. U Hla Soe and his wife sometimes provide money for the family if they have any. They also ask for money from U Hla Soe when they need it.
U Hla Soe said, “Water leaks terribly when it rains and there is nowhere to hide in the house. Nobody came and helped us after the storm. We only got a bag of rice from an INGO and another from a ward [government] authority, but we received no money to repair the house or buy new thatch for the roof. We find it difficult just to find food every day, how can we repair our house or support our children?”
He also added, “Everyone is gone, everything we have, the roof, walls, clothes, everything. We went two days without eating and we had nowhere to live. We just had to live in the railway station. I cannot describe the trouble we had. People in the same ward were not able to come and help us, they were even worse off than us. My daughter’s husband is a carpenter and if there is any work, he’ll go to work for several days. When he comes back we get a little money for the things we need.”
Ca s e 7) U Toe Ky i Risk Category: 8 – Household in which the main carer is a grandparent
A six year-old boy named Maung Nay Lwin was visiting his grandparents, who lived in the middle of Kun Chan Village, when the Cyclone struck. He lost both of his parents as well as a sister, who were living on the bank of a stream where his father earned a living as a fisherman. His whole family drowned, but he was spared because he was at his grandparents’ house.
The boy’s grandfather, U Toe Kyi, lives in the centre of the village. He owns a one-acre fruit garden where he used to grew betel and fruit. His garden was destroyed by the Cyclone and he needs money to replant. He is now having a hard time helping his family survive.
Although the grandparents are in a very difficult position, they are trying their best to meet their grandson’s needs as much as they can. U Toe Kyi and his wife were saddened by the loss of their son and his family, and they give everything they can to support their grandson. They have even sent him to school to receive a proper education. They try everything to make him happy - they buy him Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 104 toys and take him to festivals. But sometimes they can see him sitting quietly lost in his thoughts, thinking about his family. They are very worried and concerned for his future as well as his mental health. They hope there will be a day when they can get help to replant their garden.
U Toe Kyi told us that their house collapsed and all the fruits and vegetables which they were growing for their income were destroyed. The Albizzia lebbek tree in front of their house has fallen and blocked the path to his house. Their income has been devastated ever since the Cyclone destroyed their garden. Hence he had to seek help from his daughter, who is married and living separately.
U Toe Kyi wants to grow his garden back to the same way it was prior to the Cyclone and so would like to have money to invest. If he can get back to the way things were before, he could help send his grandson to school. He would also like to get help from the Government for his grandson, such as for school fees, meals and the overall costs of sending him to school to get a university degree.
Ca s e 8) U Maw Th a n e Risk Category: 8 – Household in which the main carer is a grandparent
U Maw Thane, the 60 year-old head of a household, has a wife and a granddaughter. He and his wife are farmers. Their family is poor. Six months before Cyclone Nargis, a tornado hit their village. During the tornado, his house and two neighbouring houses were destroyed. The tornado was so strong that his bullock cart and other agricultural equipment went up in the air. His granddaughter who was playing around his neighbour’s house was sucked up into the air and then fell onto the bank of a canal in the field. She was hurt but luckily survived, though she was left with a scar.
The granddaughter’s parents were day workers. Just before the Cyclone, they took her and her three brothers and sisters to a place near the sea to find firewood. When the Cyclone occurred, the parents put all the children into a container and pushed them into the sea to escape the tidal waves. Her brother and sisters died in the sea. She survived with the help of a rescue group, but received a severe head injury. She came back to the village and is now being looked after by her grandparents.
Despite their financial difficulties, her grandparents have sent her to school. But because of her head injury, she has not been able to learn like other children and her memory is bad. She has been downgraded from Grade I to Kindergarten. Sometimes the doctors come to the village and treat her. Whenever the sky gets dark with heavy rainclouds, she stares vacantly in dejection. Sometimes she asks for her parents to come back to live with her. Her mental suffering continues.
Ca s e 9) Daw Ky i Oh n Risk Category: 1 – Household with malnourished child Risk Category: 2 – Household with school-age child not attending school Risk Category: 4 – Household with children living in sub-standard accommodation Risk Category: 5 – Female-headed household with young children
Daw Kyi Ohn, a widow as well as head of the household, has a family of four including two sons and one daughter. During the night when the Cyclone came, a strong gust of wind nearly knocked over their house. She and her children were sitting on a mat inside the hut and they quickly ran out and away. Her eldest son was in front running, and she saw an electric pole fall on him. He died instantly.
When she saw her son lying on the road under the electric pole, Daw Kyi Ohn shouted and asked for help. No one could hear her over the wind and she felt helpless. She tried to lift up the electric pole on her own but could not because of the weight. Touching her son’s body, she found that he was already dead. While she was crying with her two children, the water quickly rushed onto the road and she had to run to a big house on the other side of the road, where she took shelter. The water reached 3 feet and flooded the whole village. The next day when the winds calmed down, she asked for help from her community to bury her dead son’s body. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 105
In addition to the loss of her son, her hut was almost destroyed from the strong wind and water. After the Cyclone, she only lives in a small hut. In the disaster, she also lost her savings and belongings. Accordingly, she cannot sell vegetables like before. For the family to survive, her son had to drop out of the 6th grade and work on a duck farm, where he gets 700 kyat per day. Since she does not have any money to buy vegetables to sell, she has to find odd jobs or daily work. She told us that finding this type of work is difficult and so she has to rely on her son’s salary to survive. She cannot continue sending her daughter to school, who was attending the 5th grade.
The family received rice, cooking oil, clothing and other things they needed from the Government, INGOs and local NGOs. They were were so happy to receive them because they met the needs of their family. Daw Kyi Ohn told us that before the Cyclone, the money she got from selling vegetables in the village could send all of her children to school. Now she has to rely on her son’s salary and both of her children have had to drop out of school. She felt she would go mad when the Cyclone took her eldest son, their hut, their belongings and all the money she could have used to invest. She told us the children face malnutrition problems. She also said that she really wants to send them back to school and for that she is going to be strong and will never give up. She just needs some investment money to restart her life. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 106
3.2 li s t of Tow n s h i p s i n a s s e s s m e n t area
Bogale Dedaye Kyaiklat Labutta Maubin Ayeyarwady Division Mawlamyinegyun Myaungmya Ngapudaw Pathein Pyapon Wakema Dagon Myothit (North) Dagon Myothit (Seikkan) Dagon Myothit (South) Dala Hlaingtharya Htantabin Insein Kawhmu Kayan Yangon Division Kungyangon Kyauktan North Okkalapa Seikgyikanaungto Shwepyithar Thaketa Thanlyin Thingangkuun Thongwa Twantay Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 107
3.3 co n t r i b u t i n g a g e n c i e s