Strengthening Community Health and Resilience in Myanmar: How CERF Support Helped Bring Lifesaving Care Closer to Home in Earthquake-affected Areas

Across Myanmar, many remote communities that have been impacted by the March earthquake face persistent challenges in accessing essential health services. Fragile infrastructure, seasonal disruptions, and longstanding resource gaps continue to leave families, especially children, older people, and those with chronic illnesses, at heightened risk.

With support from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the World Health Organization (WHO), together with local partners, has strengthened community-level health services in several underserved townships. This flexible, rapid funding enabled partners to expand health care service provisions, support emergency referrals, scale up nutrition counselling, and reinforce early disease detection systems. The result: thousands of people have regained access to timely, quality care, when and where it matters most.

A mother’s determination to help her child grow stronger

In a small village in Kayin State, Daw May (name changed) worried that her youngest daughter was not growing well. The family relies on small-scale farming, and seasonal income losses often mean meals lack variety. The little girl became increasingly thin and fatigued.

When a CERF-supported health care service provision team arrived to conduct nutrition checks and health education, the child was screened and found to be moderately malnourished. Health workers counselled Daw May on simple, locally available foods that could help her daughter recover.

“The health worker explained everything patiently,” she said. “I followed her advice, and slowly my daughter became healthier. When they measured her arm again and told me she was improving, I felt so relieved.”

With regular follow-up, nutrition support, and improved feeding practices, her daughter returned to the healthy range.

Emergency referral saves a life in a village in Southern Shan State

53-year-old Daw Khin (name changed), who lives with bronchial asthma, suffered a severe acute attack of breathing difficulties. At that time, transport challenges and costs had long made it difficult for her to reach a health facility in time.

Thanks to the CERF-supported emergency referral system, quick coordination and transport saved lives. She was urgently taken to a nearby public hospital and received lifesaving care. “I felt like I could not breathe,” she recounted. “Without their help, I don’t know what would have happened. I am grateful for the support I received.”

Now stabilized on medication, she receives regular follow-up during mobile clinic visits and has regained confidence to resume her daily activities.

Effective monitoring enables early detection of public health threats

CERF funding also helped to improve early detection of infectious diseases by effective monitoring and enhancing health awareness among the community after the earthquake-related displacement. The health care workers have promoted the knowledge of the community for early awareness of danger signs of communicable diseases, and support to accessible health care services, and support families with basic preventive practices such as safe water preparation and how to make a safe oral rehydration solution for diarrhorea.

A health care worker from Shan South explained: “We are able to contact the health team easily, which allows us to take action against illness early, so small problems don’t become big emergencies. We feel more connected and protected in the community.”

This ensures a significant reduction of preventable morbidity and mortality while strengthening community resilience.

Restoring dignity and resilience for families facing repeated hardships

For many communities, particularly in Kayin state, recent years have brought multiple layers of hardship, from displacement to environmental shocks like the recent March earthquake that damaged crops, homes, and access routes.

A mother of six from one of the villages in Kayin state shared how health messages and practical support helped her family through a difficult time: “When my youngest son became sick with diarrhoea, I remembered what the health staff taught us about home fluids. I prepared the mixture and then called the mobile health worker. My son recovered quickly. The support we received gave us strength when things felt overwhelming.”

Local partners have also played a vital role in ensuring families receive basic supplies and remain connected to health services despite the disruptions.

Through this CERF-supported project, WHO and partners reached more than 58 000 people across Kayin and Southern Shan, providing essential health care, mental health support, nutrition assistance, safe water, and emergency referrals where systems were weakest. Over 9000 medical consultations were delivered through mobile teams, and nearly 1400 people received mental health and psychosocial support.  In addition to this, around 2400 pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and young children benefited from emergency nutrition packages. Monitoring of diseases and public health alerts was strengthened across 71 villages, enabling rapid action on public health alerts, while new WASH and solar systems improved access to clean water and basic services for thousands of households. From restoring water systems to supporting emergency referrals, CERF funding helped ensure that communities in remote, crisis-affected areas could continue accessing life-saving services at a time when they needed them most.

Dr Thushara Fernando, WHO Representative to Myanmar, noted: “CERF funding allowed urgent needs to be met without delay. At the same time, it helped build healthier, more resilient communities by strengthening the systems that connect people to essential care.”

Looking ahead

As Myanmar continues to navigate complex humanitarian and public health challenges, WHO and partners remain committed to reaching the most vulnerable with equitable, people-centered services.

Thanks to CERF’s rapid and dependable support, thousands of individuals, from mothers caring for malnourished children to patients with chronic illnesses, have regained access to lifesaving health care and community-based support. These efforts not only address immediate needs, but also lay the groundwork for stronger, more inclusive health systems that can withstand future shocks.

*This story was originally published on the WHO Myanmar website.