Suchergebnisse

Public Work Programs (PWPs) can be a useful tool for poverty reduction and social protection provision in Myanmar by presenting a coherent framework to achieve several objectives (seasonal income and food security, disaster recovery, community resilience, social cohesion). For PWPsto be effective and sustainable, design should respond to local conditions and implementation should engage government structures that provide a scalable platform.

Defining appropriate institutional and financing arrangements is crucial to achieve sustainable social protection in Myanmar. This will require setting up overarching coordination mechanisms, with strong political leadership at the union level complemented by a more prominent role for region/state governments and local-level structures in social protection programming, financing, and delivery. This will lead to an effective and sustainable social protection system that addresses local priorities and increases accountability to citizens.

Social protection schemes can contribute to poverty reduction objectives pursued through current community-driven development (CDD) platforms in Myanmar by building household and community resilience. In turn, existing CDD platforms provide viable options to promote a transition to government-led social protection delivery. Making infrastructure development more pro-poor andproviding communities with an expanded menu of options, including social protection schemes, can be a first step in enhancing the poverty reduction potential of CDD platforms.

Myanmar's spending on and coverage of social protection programs is low. Developing the building blocks of a social protection system needs to be a gradual process based on strengtheninginstitutional capacity and ensuring fiscal sustainability. Key social security reforms and the expansion of government-led social assistance programs can promote poverty reduction and help Myanmar address vulnerabilities in an effective and sustainable way. Development partners' experience can be an important asset government can resort to when designing and implementing social assistance in Myanmar.