A Glimpse of Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar through the AHA Centre

Genesis Around the globe, humanitarian assistance programs are proliferated as conflicts become rampant. As the situation on the ground has intensified, multiple programs relating to humanitarian assistance comprising humanitarian delivery and work plan made attempts to take a foothold based on circumstantial conditions regardless of geographical scopes.

Resulting from the request for provision of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar by the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, in consideration of the rapidly growing numbers of infections and severity of COVID-19 second wave, during the course of the 54th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in August 2021, addressed to Brunei, then a rotating Chair of ASEAN, ASEAN accepted and took initiative for the introduction of humanitarian assistance through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre).

In line with Point 4 of the Five-Point Consensus reached at the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting held on 24 April 2021, the Secretary-General of ASEAN was mandated to lead the provision of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar through the AHA Centre. With the purpose of providing humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, Secretary-General held a pledging conference via video conference on 18 August 2021. The Pledging Conference resulted from countries’ donations amounted to USD 700,000, AUD 5,000,000, EUR 370,000 in cash and other in-kind contributions.

Such donations were made through AHA Centre by the ASEAN’s Dialogue Partner Countries including the ASEAN Member States and other External Partner Countries.

Humanitarian assistance in the forms of money transfer and materials was accepted and managed through the AHA Centre’s special account in ASEAN Secretariat.

 

On Executive Paper

In accord with the AHA’s Executive Paper for ASEAN’s Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar to Implement Point 4 of the Five-Point Consensus, the humanitarian assistance process was implemented in two phases: The life-Saving phase and the Life-Sustaining phase. These phases of implementation were led by the Executive Director of the AHA Centre and supervised by the Operations Director of AHA Centre in collaboration with respective officials and the team from the ASEAN Secretariat including the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) as the primary partner in Myanmar.

 

Myanmar’s willingness

 

With the approval of the Government of Myanmar, Myanmar Task Force was established with a view to smoothly facilitate policy matters to the operations of the whole humanitarian assistance process in achieving AHA’s mission goals formulated and implemented on the actual ground in coordination.

coordination. Phase one of Life-Saving works began its implementation on the ground in close cooperation with Myanmar Task Force’s Working Group. The Working Group was established to facilitate AHA Centre on ground operation. The Working Group is comprised of competent departmental officials from the ministries concerned across Myanmar. Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation acted as the Chair of the Myanmar Task Force supported by the Union Minister of Health and the Union Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement as Co-Chairs.

Starting from September 2021 to May 2022, a total of eight times of Myanmar Task Force Meetings were held. Matters on policy guidance and policy relating to the humanitarian assistance process were precisely coordinated and made for effective measures to smooth implementation of humanitarian assistance works on the ground coordinated by Working Group members. With a view to formulating policy guidance from Task Force, Working Group headed by Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Affairs Department held a total of eleven times of meeting with AHA Centre via video conference on a wide range of topics covered by humanitarian assistance process.

 

Cambodia’s Efforts

 

Soon after assuming rotating Chair of ASEAN, Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair, Cambodia Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation paid his first working visit to Myanmar from 21 March to 23 March 2022 accompanied by the Secretary of State responsible for the process of humanitarian assistance. During his visit to Myanmar, the rotating Chair of ASEAN, Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation cordially discussed matters relating to the provision of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar with Myanmar’s Union Minister of Foreign Affairs and Union Minister of International Cooperation in a friendly manner.

As a step to boost the programme of the visit, Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation accompanied by ASEAN Secretary-General visited the Warehouses of Myanmar Red Cross Society located in Thanlyin, Yangon to monitor the storage of the AHA Centre’s donated items for Phase 1.

 

Progress & Achievement

 

Phase-1 of Life-Saving lasted for seven months beginning in August 2021 soon after the Pledging Conference, a video conference made between the Union Minister for Ministry of International Cooperation in his capacity as Chair of Myanmar Task Force and Secretary-General as Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator. One day before holding a video conference with the Union Minister for the Ministry of International Cooperation, ASEAN Secretary-General had a meeting with Union Minister for Health to discuss how best to facilitate providing vaccines relating to Covid-19 treatment within Myanmar.

From October 2021 to June 2022, Cambodia’s Secretary of State responsible for humanitarian assistance visited Myanmar two times, firstly from 18 to 24 April and secondly from 7 to 11 June 2022. In the course of his visit, matters of implementation relating to the provision of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar were discussed in a cordial manner.During his visit, Cambodia’s Secretary of State had a meeting with the Union Minister of Health over important matters.

Before Phase 2 of Life-Sustaining has to be effectively implemented, the Myanmar delegation led by Union Minister for International Cooperation actively participated in Consultative Meeting held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 6 May 2022. During the course of the Consultative Meeting, ways and means to achieve substantive progress in providing humanitarian assistance throughout Myanmar are practically exchanged between Myanmar Delegation and those participants.

The Consultative Meeting discussed ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Delivery Arrangement, Joint Vaccination Framework for ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar, Operational Challenges in provision of ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar and ASEAN-UN collaboration for ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar. Myanmar agreed in principle to carry out the Joint Vaccination Framework for ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar with an operation team of 50:50 between MOH and partners as well as to conduct pilot projects in the areas identified by Myanmar Task Force. Deputy Ministers for Health and Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement also participated in the Consultative Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

With a view to commencing Phase 2 of Life-Sustaining, Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) works were introduced in Bago Region (Kyaukkyi), Shan State (Pindaya) and Kayah State (Loikaw) by AHA and ERAT team members with the support of respective local authorities.

The success of JNA in designated areas by the AHA Centre was due to the fruitful support of the Myanmar Task Force in tandem with respective competent authorities of concerned States and Regions in Myanmar.

 

Myanmar’s commitment

 

Time has passed over one month, and Myanmar is eagerly awaiting efforts to secure the second phase of provision of the humanitarian assistance as the Government of Myanmar has given green light to do so in Mon State, Shan State, Kayah State, Rakhine State, Bago Region, Magway Region and Sagaing Region respectively.

Based on the JNA results, the AHA Centre has come to a halt to continue to the second phase of Life-Sustaining as projected in the work plan.

It is observed that the Myanmar government by its agencies and government relating organizations including competent authorities has carried out the obligation to their fullest extent in collaboration with not only the AHA team but also the ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ASEAN ERAT) throughout the whole process of humanitarian assistance.

Myanmar has fully complied with cherished principles of humanitarian assistance in the operations conducted by the AHA Centre and filed works in Joint Needs Assessment in areas designated by AHA in close collaboration with respective local authorities within the parameters of Myanmar’s territory where security is put as the first priority.

It is a firm wishful desire that such a humanitarian situation in Myanmar would come to a complete end as and when a conducive environment happens in the soonest possible means. MOFA MYANMAR