Local expertise key to earthquake relief amid conflict in Myanmar, report advises

Mizzima

A new report urges humanitarian actors responding to Myanmar’s devastating 28 March earthquake to adopt a conflict-sensitive and locally driven approach, warning that missteps could risk lives and inadvertently legitimize the military junta.

The report, titled Do No Harm Considerations to Funding, Partnering and Implementing in Myanmar’s Earthquake Response and Recovery, highlights the need for tailored aid strategies in a country already fractured by civil war.

The most severely affected areas include Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, and Naypyidaw, as well as parts of southern Shan State and Bago Region. However, the response is complicated by ongoing military attacks, restrictions on movement, and surveillance by the military junta.