Myanmar Times-13 Dec 2017
One third of the population in Myanmar either lives in poverty or are near-poor, despite the significant reduction in poverty over the past decade, according to a new estimate based on 2015 living conditions released by the Ministry of Planning and Finance and the World Bank.
The ministry and the World Bank jointly released the second volume of the two-part Myanmar Poverty Assessment, which is based on the 2015 Myanmar Poverty and Living Conditions Survey.
The publication involved a revision and rebasing of poverty estimates to reflect changing consumption patterns in the country.
The revised poverty measures used in Myanmar include durables such as mobile phones and updated calorie estimates from the Ministry of Health and Sports.
On December 12, the World Bank said that poverty has declined significantly since 2004, falling from an estimated 48.2pc to 32.1pc in 2015. With the new measures, it is estimated that some 15.8 million people live below the poverty line in this country.
“Having a more detailed understanding of the characteristics and profiles of those most in need and the constraints they face enable us to prepare appropriate responses – and help reduce poverty for everyone in Myanmar,” U Maung Maung Tin, director-general at the Planning Department under the Ministry of Planning and Finance, said.
Poor households tend to have fewer working age adults and more dependents, and fewer resources that can generate income, such as land or farming tools, according to the publication. The extreme poor are disproportionately in the agriculture sector as casual labourers or as small-holder farmers, and have few alternatives for income.
The report highlights the economic impact of health and weather-related shocks, estimating that half the country suffered from such shocks over a twelve-month period and 4pc of potential work days were lost due to ill-health. Coping strategies such as reducing spending on food or adding more debt can impact families’ ability to bounce back and ultimately affect long-term growth.
“Now with a better understanding and consensus on the levels and distribution of poverty in Myanmar, the World Bank is in a better position to support Myanmar’s efforts to reduce poverty and promote in clusive growth for all,” Ms Kwakwa noted. “Inclusion so that growth and opportunities benefit the poor and near-poor is critical for peace and prosperity.”
The poverty assessment is part of a series of analytical works outlined in the World Bank’s strategy for Myanmar — the Country Partnership Framework (CPF). The strategy supports reforms which promote growth in rural areas, invests in services that work towards better nutrition, health, education, infrastructure, and more jobs. The Myanmar Times has summarized the report’s core findings below.
Rural vs Urban Poverty
The new estimate finds that poverty in rural areas is substantially higher than that in urban areas: 38.8pc of the rural population are estimated to be poor compared to 14.5pc of those in its towns and cities.
Poverty remains geographically spread: in the coastal and mountainous areas, 4 in10 of the population are poor and 1 in 6 will struggle to meet their basic food needs, while 65pc of the poor live in the dry zone and delta.
Poor households are typically characterized as having more family members and more young and elderly dependents per working age adult. Household heads typically have lower levels of education than the average household, and their working age members also have lower than average education levels.
Households in poverty are disproportionately concentrated in agriculture, either as casual laborers or as small-holder farmers, and tend to be less diversified in their activities. Among those who are farming, they’re less likely to own the land that they cultivate. Poverty is strongly linked to low farming or agricultural labor incomes and a heavy reliance on the main monsoon crop.
Poorer households are in general less integrated into the formal economy, and have limited access to official documents which enable access to public services and formal credit sources, enforce their claims and rights, and for undertaking secure market transactions.
Severe Impact on Children
Poverty reduces quality of life for all and limits the potential of children in Myanmar through various means.
Malnutrition, high infant mortality as well as poor education limits the physical and cognitive development of children from poorer households, affecting labor market outcomes.
Around one third of households report limiting the quality of their diet as a consequence of insufficient resources while 8pc of households report running out of food due to a lack of resources. Reports of limited quality food emerge from both poor and near-poor households.
Although primary education participation rates are high for both poor and more affluent children, children from poorer households start falling behind before they drop out. In Myanmar, 6 out of 10 children who start grade one drop out before the end of middle school.
Health issues can be seen across the poverty profile. Poor health is the single most common shock to welfare reported by households. Health expenditures are high and almost exclusively out-of-pocket, and the number of days of labor lost is significant, placing a heavy burden on households.
Only a third of households have access to electricity through the public grid. In fact, nearly 3 in 10 people lack access to year-round improved drinking water supply, and many rural areas lack access to the critical infrastructure needed to connect to markets in and outside the country.
Some 14% are Near-Poor
Beyond the 32% living in poverty, a further 14% are near-poor, in that those households live within 20% of the poverty line. For these households, small unanticipated shocks can drag them back into poverty.
Households report facing costly shocks, such as weather or health incidents, that reduce their ability to focus on longer-term investments and result in harmful coping strategies.
Unanticipated shocks to income or welfare, for example, the illness of a family member, crop failures or natural disasters, can have severe negative repercussions and can send households into poverty.
Households weathering insecurities take actions which affect their ability to make longer-term investments and improve their well-being, including cutting back on their investments.
