Myanmar

Prepared in the context of the process of Myanmar’s graduation from LDC status this publication document contains insights into the particular vulnerabilities or fragilities of the country and the implications of these disadvantages. The profile helps national authorities understand the critical relationship between the need for resilience-building action and LDC status as a basis for eligibility for special support to this action. It is organized around four pillars: (i) a situation analysis; (ii) identification of key areas of vulnerability; (iii) evaluation of the consequences of identified vulnerabilities; and (iv) identification of structures and features of the economy that are critical for a sustainable graduation and for reducing existing vulnerabilities. Topics covered include the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 pervasive informality inequalities and gender issues.

Fertility rates vary significantly across different socioeconomic and demographic factors customs cultures and practices of people living in different parts of the world. The age at first birth one of the most significant events in a woman’s life is directly and indirectly related to total fertility. The present paper is focused on the patterns and socioeconomic and demographic determinants of age at the first birth of Myanmar women. For this study data from the Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey 2015–2016 were used. A total of 7613 ever-married women between 15 and 49 years who had given birth participated in the survey. The pattern of women at first birth was estimated using as descriptive technique and the determinants of age at first birth were identified using the Cox Proportional Hazards model. The average age at first birth of Myanmar women was 22.4 years in 2015-2016. The results of this study indicate that women’s education level and their age when they first engaged in sex birth cohort wealth index residence husband’s education and occupation whether they reside in a female-headed household were found to be significant factors associated with age at first birth. The age of women at first birth tended to be longer for women living in urban areas and women married to men with high degrees of education. Based on the results of this study rural areas need to be developed and improving educational attainment is required to delay the age at first birth of women in Myanmar.

One of the biggest sustainability challenges faced by a development project is how to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to stakeholders in the field so that initiatives can be continued and replicated post-project. Another challenge particularly in post-conflict situations is how to nurture trust.

This report presents an analysis of the agriculture and tourism sectors in the Inle Lake area of Shan State in Myanmar from a gender perspective. It investigates how to improve women’s wellbeing through their participation in three selected agricultural value chains (tea avocado and ginger) and in the tourism sector. The report provides policy recommendations for building linkages between the three agricultural value chains and the tourism sector to promote gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. The study is carried out within the framework of the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) – United Nations Cluster on Trade and Productive Capacity Myanmar Project entitled “Enhancing horticulture supply and sustainable tourism to develop business linkages.”