Why Canada should sustain its COVID-19 aid to Myanmar through the border areas

If Canada were to end its direct funding to Indigenous civil societies working in areas outside of the Myanmar government control, it would have an enormous impact on Indigenous communities served by Canada’s life-saving assistance. The way COVID-19 support to Myanmar—including to the 600,000 Rohingya living in refugee camps in Bangladesh—was handled by the central government highlights the reasons why Canada’s delivery of vital humanitarian and development assistance directly through Indigenous civil society organizations working in the country’s border areas (hence called “cross-border aids”) without going through the central government should be continued and expanded. To date, Canada has provided $850,000 to support the Myanmar COVID-19 response. Canada’s support is much-needed, as Myanmar is currently in the midst of a surge of infections. Confirmed COVID-19 cases have increased a hundredfold in the past two months—from 374 in mid-August to more than 60,000 in early November, with nearly 1,400 deaths. Yet, many of the most vulnerable people—those living in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps and Indigenous communities in armed conflict areas—are being left behind by the Myanmar government’s response. Despite the fact that the president has adopted a policy of “No One Left Behind” in Myanmar’s COVID-19 response, testing coverage, and distribution of protective equipment and assistance is sorely lacking in the country’s war-torn border areas of Indigenous communities. The current COVID-19 pandemic provides a stark reminder of the fact that Myanmar’s centralized health structure has a poor understanding of the cultural and health needs of Indigenous populations, and is unable or unwilling to meet their needs. Those who live in conflict areas outside of the central government’s control typically receive their health care from Indigenous-led health organizations, not from the national health system. Much of Canada’s development assistance to Myanmar—totalling more than $100-million since 2013—is channeled through civil society organizations. Despite the government being democratically elected, most of the political power from holding 25 per cent of seats for its unelected members and economic power remains in the hands of the Myanmar military. This is the same institution that has perpetrated human rights abuses against the country’s Indigenous populations for decades and that is presently on trial for war crimes at The Hague. A strategy to redirect all funding through the central government will mean moving away from the inclusive nation-building effort that Canada says it supports. The current COVID-19 crisis is a prime example of why. Canada’s long-term financial support for the Mae Tao Clinic, operating on the Thai-Myanmar border and servicing the most vulnerable refugees and Myanmar’s Indigenous communities, is an example of effective, direct cross-border assistance that should be expanded. The Mae Tao Clinic is run by Dr. Cynthia Maung, a globally recognized humanitarian hero who has received countless international honours, including Canada’s John Humphrey Freedom Award. For three decades, the Mae Tao Clinic has provided medical training to the staff of Indigenous-led health organizations working in Myanmar’s border regions. It is these staff who have been vital to the COVID-19 response for vulnerable people in areas not served by the Myanmar government's health system. With skills from the Mae Tao trainings, health staff from the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand have provided reproductive health services to tens of thousands of girls and women from Myanmar’s northern Indigenous communities along the China-Myanmar border. This cross-border aid is instrumental in saving women’s lives, a goal of Canada’s feminist foreign policy. For an inclusive federal system with genuine peace to emerge in Myanmar, Canada should continue and expand its current direct support on humanitarian and development assistance, in parallel with support through the central Myanmar government. Stella Naw is a political writer and independent researcher on humanitarian issues, human rights, and peace and conflict in Myanmar. Follow her on Twitter @StellaNaw. The Hill Times CORRECTION: This piece was updated on Nov. 10 at 6:40 p.m. to reflect that the majority of Canada’s international assistance to Myanmar is through civil society organizations, not through the country’s central government. It has also been changed to remove references to Canada potentially ending its direct funding to civil society groups in Myanmar. The Hill Times regrets the error.