Launch: The Myanmar Consortium for Community Resilience commenced its new phase on building resilience through strengthened institutions, communities and systems in Myanmar

The Myanmar Consortium for Community Resilience (MCCR), comprised of four INGOs and two UN partners have launched an 18-month project aimed at reducing the human, social, economic, and environmental losses in coastal and urban areas resulting from disasters in Myanmar. The European Union-funded consortium has been supporting disaster risk reduction and resilience-building initiatives with coastal and urban communities in high-risk areas of Myanmar since 2012. "We made a firm commitment a decade ago to support our partners in strengthening local capacities in Disaster Risk Reduction", says Head of ECHO’s Yangon Office in Myanmar. “We are now seeing these efforts bear fruit as local communities, local authorities and national institutions integrate community-based DRR measures into their programs. We look forward to this new chapter in building a more resilient Myanmar”.

Resilience building requires the collective action of communities, institutions, government bodies and the international community. Building upon the past experience, this new phase of MCCR aims to strengthen capacities and systems at both institutional and community levels while increasing awareness, knowledge, skills and capacities of those most vulnerable to the risks of disaster and conflict in line with the priorities outlined in the 2017 Myanmar Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction (MAPDRR).

Previously MCCR phases have been implemented in Rakhine, Ayeyawaddy, and Yangon regions, with the objective of empowering communities to withstand, cope, and recover from the shocks and stresses of natural disasters and man-made hazards. Through the coordination of focused disaster risk reduction practices in communities and schools, and lobbying for the institutionalization of resilience policies with decision makers, MCCR has applied an inclusive and conflict sensitive approach extending into both rural coastal areas, as well as urban settings where the risk of disasters is magnified by dense populations and infrastructural hazards.

At national and sub-national levels, the current MCCR project will work closely with 20 government departments and institutions to equip them with functional and tested earthquake preparedness and response plans through disaster simulation exercises, a regional awareness strategy for Yangon and sharing comprehensive learning materials including best practices, technical data, and resilience priorities to stakeholders. Furthermore, the project will work with women, men, and children from different ethnic groups in the most earthquake prone and conflict affected states and regions to impart lifesaving knowledge and practices.

Moving forward, the consortium partners will work closely with local ministries including Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Health and Sports and Ministry of Education, as well as local institutions and service providers including the regional governments, city development committees and general hospitals of both Yangon and Mandalay, Myanmar Red Cross Society, and the Disaster Management Training Centre. Working together to support more resilient urban and rural communities, the project will also engage local media and professional institutions including the Myanmar Engineering Society, UK Emergency Medical Team, etc.