The need for a more practical and effective approach to humanitarian aid in Burma has never been greater, particularly as a new aid program, the Three Diseases, or 3-D, fund prepares to implement new projects this year.
The regulations imposed by Burma’s ruling junta are inconsistent and counterproductive to the delivery of aid to the country’s most vulnerable communities. Vital programs can easily be crushed with arbitrary refusals by local officials to allow project staff the access they require.
Neither can aid programs succeed without the involvement of local beneficiaries, particularly in establishing a workable monitoring system. Unfortunately, many such groups are prevented from doing so because of the presence of local authorities and USDA members—many of whom misrepresent themselves as local community leaders. Their interests have nothing to do with the needs of the Burmese people. They are interested only in how they can benefit personally from aid projects.
Soe Khine’s experiences are all too typical in Burma, where social workers are burdened by the inevitable challenges of carrying out their projects amid the meddling of local authorities. Without the freedom to travel at will in project areas and a reliable monitoring system, aid workers are increasingly unable to get an accurate picture of “on the ground” conditions in project areas.
As a result, the true scope of Burma’s humanitarian crises remains shrouded by government bureaucracy, self-interest and paranoid isolationism.
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