The Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT) Sounds Alarm at Worsening Humanitarian Situation in Yangon

Unprecedented economic hardships drive thousands of workers to despair …

The situation in Yangon has taken a dramatic turn for the worse as thousands of families face growing insecurity and are subject to erratic and random violence. At the same time the impact of protracted income cuts, surging food prices, halted health services and lack of remittances take their toll.

Many garment factories, a critical source of urban livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of women, have ceased operations  with major markets cancelling orders and disruptions being experienced in raw material supply chains. Several of the largest brands sourcing from Myanmar have announced that they will stop all further orders.

Furthermore, several factories have been  burned and vandalized leaving thousands of people with no income prospects.

There are also increasing reports of poor treatment of workers in factories, including locking workers inside factories to prevent from protesting and refusal to pay full wages.

Deadly crackdowns on 13 March left 21 persons dead in just one day. With unprecedented economic hardships and growing insecurity, thousands of workers are leaving the city or remain to face chaos and socio-economic misery. Food shortages and food price spikes have already been reported across many townships of Yangon, particularly those under martial law. Coupled with market closures and hindered access to healthcare facilities, this is expected to lead to sharp increases in acute malnutrition among the most vulnerable groups of population.

… while key service providers are disabled

Most of LIFT’s essential support and services in Yangon is delivered through non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations (CSOs). Following the military takeover, many of these organizations have paused or limited their activities while  they assess the risks, ensure the safety of their personnel and adjust the programmes to the changing context. This has disrupted critical work that was actively improving working conditions and nutrition of individuals living in these areas of Yangon.

Meanwhile, disruptions in the banking sector have resulted in a liquidity crisis for organizations’ operations and the intermittent communication connectivity - telephone and internet - has hindered the remote management of activities.

While the majority of LIFT’s partners have shifted their activities to provide and expand humanitarian support, psychosocial and legal counselling to migrants and workers, the de facto authorities are  taking measures to restrain some of these organizations, including issuing warrants for staff and instructing banks to submit details of the financial transactions of NGO bank accounts since 1 April 2016.

LIFT-supported labour organizations, who have been at the vanguard of decent work efforts, are forced to suspend nearly all their activities.

While thousands of people are in desperate need of assistance, LIFT’s partners are under distinct pressure.

What’s next?

LIFT and partners are mobilizing to provide humanitarian support, including food assistance and cash transfers to workers experiencing a loss of livelihood in Yangon. This should be combined with psychosocial counselling services to workers and emergency medical treatment to CSO staff and others traumatized during the recent crackdowns. LIFT will also support dialogue with international brands to get their suppliers to act responsibly, while increasing legal assistance services for affected workers.