FROM THE COUNTRY DIRECTOR
Shihab Uddin Ahamad
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Dear friends,
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the WaterAid Myanmar team is managing to continue its WASH programs across the country. The pandemic has made our WASH-related work, particularly our handwashing and hygiene behaviour change program, more relevant than ever before.
Our team is working together with respective government departments, communities, local civil society organisations and media to reach people with hygiene behaviour change messages using a range of innovative approaches and tools. At the same time, the Myanmar government is taking appropriate steps to control the spread of COVID-19 as well as treat affected individuals.
It would not have been possible for the government to control the disease unless people across all sectors and communities cooperated and followed government advice. It has been extremely encouraging to see how residents in Myanmar in both rural and urban areas tried their best to ensure good hygiene practices despite their limited resources. In many places, rural communities are even enthusiastically setting up low-cost water-saving tippy taps.
COVID-19 may have brought loss of life and economic disruption but on the other hand it has given us huge lessons. One of the most important lessons we have learned is that clean water and good hygiene are extremely important for protecting both lives and economic wellbeing, and we need to invest more in WASH in the future.
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COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Making behaviour change on handwashing and hygiene permanent
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As Myanmar's response to COVID-19 has evolved, so have our activities. When the coronavirus emerged in January we immediately launched a range of activities, from disseminating Myanmar-specific hygiene messages to working with local authorities and communities to share resources to COVID-19 committees. We are still undertaking this important work but as the number of cases of COVID-19 plateaus, WaterAid is increasingly focusing on how the country can safely enter the post-COVID era and remain prepared for future outbreaks. As always, handwashing and hygiene behaviour change – the greatest risk-reduction tools against infections and illnesses – remain central to WaterAid's response activities.
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WAMM PROVIDES POSTERS
ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Since COVID-19 emerged as a threat, WaterAid Myanmar has provided more than 15,000 vinyl signs for distribution around the country in cooperation with civil society and local authorities. The signs, which explain how to protect yourself from catching the virus, have been produced in six languages and posted in public areas. One example of our cooperation with civil society is in Kyaukpadaung township in Mandalay Region, where WaterAid Myanmar worked with the Mandalay Youth Network to distribute signs in Kyaukpadaung town, Popa hospital and villages.
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CAMPAIGN TO WEAR MASKS AND IMPROVE HANDWASHING
In Myanmar culture, announcements through loudspeakers are a very effective way to share important information with communities. WaterAid Myanmar has provided loudspeakers for wards in Hlaing Tharyar township, one of Yangon’s most populated areas, at the request of the township COVID-19 response committee. The committee is using the loudspeakers to promote the wearing of masks and practising of good handwashing habits.
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SUPPORTING WASTE CLEANERS WITH PPE SUPPLIES
Safety is a major challenge for municipal workers who are responsible for keeping the city clean. To help keep these essential workers safe, WaterAid Myanmar has provided PPE suits, including rubber gloves and boots, and surgical masks, for Yangon City Development Committee cleaners working at quarantine centres and in public areas in Hlaing Tharyar township.
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A total of six illustrations with health messages related to COVID-19 have been included in the billboard.
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USING BILLBOARDS TO SPREAD PREVENTION MESSAGING
In order to raise awareness about COVID-19 prevention, WaterAid Myanmar is cooperating with Yangon City Development Committee to put up billboards around Hlaing Tharyar township carrying messages about how people can protect themselves from the virus. The billboards will be positioned at crowded areas, such as near schools, markets and hospitals, for maximum impact.
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WAMM HELPS 'HEALTHY CHOICES' FOR SHWE PYI THAR RESIDENTS
Four wards will benefit from improved access to safe water and sanitation
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WaterAid Myanmar and its partner organisations held a project induction workshop on June 29 in Shwe Pyi Thar township in Yangon where they are implementing the “Healthy Choices” urban project, which is being funded by the Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT).
WAMM will work together with Save the Children, Pan Taing Shin and Ray of Lights on the project, taking responsibility for improving access to safe water and adequate sanitation in four wards to reduce the risk from water-borne and communicable diseases among targeted communities.
During the three-year project period, WAMM will also focus on supporting planning at Yangon City Development Committee through technical assistance, community mobilisation and a needs assessment.
Through this project communities will receive sustainable solutions for sanitation and safe water infrastructure, as well as community-based solutions for solid waste management.
 
WAMM's urban WASH project manager Ma Khin Win Kyi speaks at the "Healthy Choices" project induction workshop (left).
Attendees at the workshop (right). Photo: Moh Moh Thaw/WaterAid Myanmar
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READY, SET ... TIPPY TAP
Tippy tap competition inspires dry zone communities to improve handwashing practices
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To promote the building of handwashing stations and improve personal hygiene behaviour, WaterAid Myanmar is organising tippy tap contests in 28 villages in Magway and Mandalay regions.
A tippy tap is a contactless, low-cost and water-saving handwashing station that can be made from basic materials.
Preparations for the first contest have been conducted in 13 villages in Magway Region's Myaing township with the support of government departments, local parliamentarians and two civil society organisations: the Myaing Youth Development Organisation (MYDO) and the Magway Youth Network.
For the first phase of the competition, CSOs visited the targeted villages in the first week of June and explained what a tippy tap is and how it works. They then demonstrated how to construct a tippy tap so that residents could make their own.
A staff member from the Myaing Youth Development Organisation demonstrates how to build a tippy tap at one of the 28 villages taking part in the contest. Photo: MYDO
“We provided hygiene awareness sessions at the same time as the demonstration of how to build a tippy tap,” said Ma Myint Zu Soe, who leads WAMM’s Community-Led Integrated WASH Project in Myaing township. “Only when they [the villagers] understand how important it is to have good hygiene, they will be inspired to set up the handwashing stations in their own compound and will change their behaviour forever.”
For the second phase of the contest, residents from the competing villages will have 15 days to set up individual handwashing stations in their own compound. WaterAid Myanmar is offering attractive prize money to the three villages that construct the most tippy taps, with the winnings to go to their village community funds.
 
A girl (left) and a member of Village Water Committee (right) use tippy taps constructed by MYDO. Photo: MYDO
“If the villages have the same numbers of handwashing stations, we will decide the winner based on the quality of their design or their creativity,” said Ma Myint Zu.
WaterAid introduced the tippy tap to Myaing so that families can improve their personal hygiene without having to spend much money.
Myaing is an area in Magway Region that often suffers from water shortages during summer, creating hygiene challenges for residents.
Ma Myint Zu said that a tippy tap can be made from local materials and requires only a bucket and four sticks.
“They can build a tippy tap themselves using bamboo or wooden sticks that can be found easily in their villages,” Ma Myint Zu said.
WaterAid Myanmar plans to introduce tippy taps to other areas of the country, using competitions as an encouragement for more communities to install the low-cost handwashing stations.
WaterAid Myanmar has already begun organising a second competition featuring 15 villages in Mandalay's Kyaukpadaung township.
WATERAID MYANMAR IN THE NEWS
Four media organisations (One News Myanmar, Magway Post, 7Day News and Myanmar Times) published preview articles about WaterAid Myanmar's tippy tap contest in June.
စိတ်ဝင်စားဖို့ကောင်းတဲ့ တန်ဖိုးနည်းခြေနင်းလက်ဆေးစင်
[Interesting low cost tippy tap]
ခြေနင်းဖြင့်အသုံးပြုရသည့် လက်ဆေးစင်ပြိုင်ပွဲပြုလုပ်မည်
[WAMM will organise a tippy tap contest]
မြိုင်မြို့နယ်တွင် ခြေနင်းလက်ဆေးစင်ပြိုင်ပွဲ ပြုလုပ်မည်
[A tippy tap contest held in Myaing township]
မြိုင်မြို့နယ် ကျေးရွာ ၁၃ ရွာ လက်ဆေးစင်ပြိုင်ပွဲ ဝင်ပြိုင်
[Thirteen villages in Myaing township will participate in tippy tap contest]
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DFAT SUPPORTS PROJECT TO IMPROVE WASH IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES
WAMM is implementing a five-year project named "Supporting Safer Births in Myanmar" in five townships in Ayeyarwady Region with support from the Water for Women Fund established by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
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Photo: Thinn Myat Mon/WaterAid Myanmar
ADVOCACY STRATEGY DEVELOPED TO SUPPORT SAFER BIRTHS IN MYANMAR
Myanmar's health care system is improving under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS). Several policies and guidelines have already been developed or are under development to ensure effective health care services. As an organisation that specialises in WASH, WaterAid is also working with MoHS to improve WASH infrastructure in health facilities in order to deliver better care and infection prevention and control (IPC) outcomes. Under a project supported by the Water for Women Fund, WaterAid Myanmar is not only providing direct support but also developing an advocacy strategy for strengthening health care service systems. The main areas for advocacy are the provision of trainings for health staff related to WASH and IPC, and gender equality and social inclusion; provision of user-friendly WASH infrastructure in healthcare facilities; and improving guidelines and policies related to WASH in healthcare facilities.
Photo: Swe Zin Tun/WaterAid Myanmar
WAMM ENGAGES WITH MOHS OFFICIALS TO IMPROVE WASH IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES
The Ministry of Health and Sports, WaterAid Myanmar and partners discussed a baseline report that details the current situation of WASH in healthcare facilities in Ayeyarwady Region. The Deputy Director General, Directors, Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors from the Department of Public Health and Ayeyarwady Region Health Department, as well as the team from partner organisation Jhpiego, joined the discussion. As a result of the discussion, MoHS and WAMM have agreed to collaborate for the further improvement of WASH facilities, as well as processes and tools for infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities.
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Photo: Eaint Phu Myint Myat/WaterAid Myanmar
GENDER AND POWER ANALYSIS TO IMPROVE WASH IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES
Patriarchy and other social norms create power structures that often exclude poor and marginalised people from basic services and increase their vulnerability. These traditional social practices and patriarchy are deeply rooted in society, including institutions, and need to be identified and addressed through government policy, law and implementations guidelines. To address this issue, WaterAid Myanmar and Jhpiego under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Sports have been working together on a Gender and Power Analysis (GPA) in the context of healthcare facilities. The key findings of the GPA were presented at the WaterAid Myanmar office on June 22. This GPA aims to document and apply tools and techniques to address gender and social inclusion in order to improve the quality of health care through better WASH services in Myanmar’s health system. WaterAid will work with the MoHS to advocate for health policies, standards and guidelines to address the gender and inequality issues raised in the analysis, along with providing practical support to five township hospitals as a model program to replicate.
Photo: Eaint Phu Myint Myat/WaterAid Myanmar
DESIGNING A USER FEEDBACK MECHANISM IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES
Accountability of service providers is critical for improving services, including when it comes to health care. Feedback from users – both patients and attendants – on health care services provided by health care facilities is one of the most effective tools for ensuring accountability and improving services. Accordingly, members of the Supporting Safer Births in Myanmar project team have designed a user feedback mechanism to pilot in project township hospitals. |
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TIME FOR NATURE
WaterAid Myanmar observes World Environment Day with a new policy aimed at reducing pollution
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To mark World Environment Day, WaterAid Myanmar has introduced a mandatory work from home policy for Fridays in order to save energy and reduce transport-related environmental impacts. Inspired by the recent shift to working from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, WAMM will close its office every Friday and conduct its weekly all-staff meetings remotely. Closing the office will reduce power use and the need for staff to drive, taxi or bus to work. Although most staff are already working from home due to COVID-19, WAMM anticipates the policy will remain in place even after staff return to the office. This year’s World Environment Day theme is “Time for Nature” and we believe that our efforts to reduce our environmental impact will have a positive effect. |
Photo: Society for the Environment |
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TV EPISODES ON COVID-19
WaterAid Myanmar is working together with the country's most popular digital platform to increase public knowledge and discussion about the coronavirus pandemic
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WaterAid Myanmar is partnering with 7Day TV, part of Myanmar’s largest private media group, to produce and broadcast four episodes on COVID-19 and WASH. The series aims to both improve hygiene awareness and stimulate more discussion and thinking about how COVID-19 relates to WASH.
The first video featured a discussion with WaterAid Myanmar senior advisor Professor Than Htut and the 7Day TV host aimed at promoting handwashing practices during and after COVID-19. The video was crossposted on the WAMM social media page and gained more than 120,000 views.
The second video was reported as a news feature and focused on the voices of the public about handwashing. It featured new handwashing stations that WAMM has helped to set up in Thingangyun and Hlaing Tharyar townships.
The third video was livestreamed as a panel discussion. WAMM invited prominent health experts and a celebrity to participate in the panel, which focused on "Living with COVID-19".
The fourth video was about the tippy tap competition that WaterAid Myanmar helped to organise in 28 villages in Magway and Mandalay regions.
Working with 7Day TV has given WAMM access to a huge potential audience, as it has more than 2 million Facebook followers and the videos are also shared on the 7Day News page, which has about 24 million followers.
A screenshot from the second episode produced under WAMM's partnership with 7Day TV.
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IT'S TIME FOR ACTION
WaterAid Myanmar observes Menstrual Hygiene Day by taking part in a bracelet campaign
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The WaterAid Myanmar team participated in a bracelet campaign to celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28. Team members made their own bracelets of 28 beads, including five red beads to represent the menstrual cycle, and shared photos of the bracelets with the public through the WAMM social media page along with personal reflections on what Menstrual Hygiene Day means to them. The campaign aimed to bring to the surface issues that women and girls have been suffering for a long time and get people talking about them openly.
Though more than 800 million women and girls menstruate every day, for many it remains a secret because of social stigma and taboos. Therefore, country director of WAMM Shihab Ahamad urged both men and women to start talking about menstruation and challenge the taboos and social misconceptions that surround it.
“Schools, workplaces and public places also often lack proper infrastructure to manage menstrual hygiene, creating a major barrier for women and girls to attend school and work, and take part in public life,” said Mr Shihab, stressing the importance of removing the obstacles that women and girls face to maintaining hygiene during menstruation.
 
WaterAid Myanmar's Country Director Shihab Ahamad observes Menstrual Hygiene Day by participating
in the bracelet campaign. Photo: WaterAid Myanmar
He said that this was an important step for ensuring gender equality and empowering women and girls so they could grow to their full potential.
But the bracelet campaign didn’t just target changing the mindset of the public about menstruation. WAMM staff also took the opportunity to discuss the issues with their family members, including children, by making the bracelets together with them or sharing facts such as how millions of women and girls face barriers to maintaining hygiene during menstruation.
Munawar Hassan, WAMM Head of Programme and Policy, said that his two teenage sons were astonished when he told them that the girls and women were forced to miss valuable school days or work hours during menstruation due to a lack of girl- and women-friendly toilets in their institutions or workplaces.
“Menstrual Hygiene Day warrants our attention to the plight and pain of girls and women who feel extremely ridiculed and stigmatised because of menstruation, which is a natural process, but patriarchal society makes it a taboo to demean young girls and women,” Mr Munawar said, adding that it was time for action to address the situation.
 
Bracelets made by WaterAid Myanmar staff. Photo: Shresha Karmacharya and Munawar Hassan/WaterAid Myanmar
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WATERAID MYANMAR
IN THE NEWS
Myanmar Times, The Voice and the Magway Post feature WaterAid in their recent coverage
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WaterAid Myanmar’s activities to mark 
Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28 attracted
significant interest from local media. Three media organisations covered WaterAid Myanmar’s bracelet campaign, including the Myanmar Times,
which is one of the country's most influential
newspapers.
Click on this link to read the full article published
by the Myanmar Times in English.
More coverage of WAMM:
The Magway Post:
ဓမ္မတာလာခြင်းသည်ရှက်စရာမဟုတ်ပါ
[Menstruation isn't a shameful thing]
The Voice:
ရာသီသွေးအကြောင်း ပွင့်လင်းစွာပြောကြားရန် Water Aid Myanmar က တိုက်တွန်း
[WAMM urges to speak up about menstruation openly]
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EXPANDING OUR MEDIA FELLOWSHIPS
WaterAid selects Magway Post for a fellowship extension following the success of a Media Fellowship Programme
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Earlier this year, WaterAid Myanmar launched its Media Fellowship Programme, bringing together 11 talented journalists from around the country to learn about and report on WASH issues. WAMM has extended the fellowship of one of the participants, Nay Aung – the editor-in-chief of Magway Post – so that he can continue to report on WASH issues in his region. Every year, thousands of residents in Magway Region suffer from water shortages but these issues often do not receive attention from media based in Yangon and Mandalay. Nay Aung has already made several field visits across Magway Region under this three-month extension and has published photo essays, videos and feature articles on important WASH topics. We are delighted to be working with such a talented and eager journalist and creating opportunities for him and the Magway Post to report more on WASH.
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One of Nay Aung's reports is about how the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated water shortages in some rural areas of Magway Region, because residents normally rely on donors but this year the donors have shifted their focus to COVID-19 relief activities instead. You can read the full article here.
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Nay Aung travelled to remote villages in Magway Region to shoot a photo essay
on the struggles that residents face getting water during hot season. |
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BUILDING KNOWLEDGE AND STAYING HEALTHY
WaterAid Myanmar staff have been taking part in internal learning sessions to improve their knowledge and keep in touch with each other
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Like many other organisations in the country, WaterAid Myanmar has switched to working from home for the time being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. As this is a new undertaking for WAMM, most of our staff were not used to working from home. Therefore, WAMM has been arranging internal remote learning sessions for members of our team focused on work-related topics as well as on mental health and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. This has not only helped to improve knowledge and skills but has also been a wonderful way to communicate and keep in touch with each other.
A total of 11 learning sessions have been conducted since we began working from home on March 30, and more sessions will be arranged. Some of the topics discussed included WAMM policies, internal learning and inductions for staff. The sessions were arranged by members of the WAMM team, and all staff actively participated by discussing the topics with questions and answers.
After all sessions are completed, a fun exam will be held to mark the end of these learning sessions, and certificates will be issued to the staff to recognise their participation.
WAMM staff participate in one of the internal learning sessions.
Story: Eaint Phu Myint Myat, Photo: Munawar Hassan/WaterAid Myanmar
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WATERAID MYANMAR
ON THE SCREEN
A selection of recent news coverage of WaterAid's activities and interviews with our team members
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See more about our work on the COVID-19 response:
- Handwashing instructional video by WAMM and Coca media
- Handwashing promotional video
- COVID 19 Awareness poster
- COVID 19 Awareness video by WAMM
- 7 Day TV COVID 19 awareness program on handwashing
- 2019 Novel Coronavirus awareness (Kachin language): Korona ana makawp hpaji jaw ai lam
- Washing hands properly with soap and water is integral in preventing all kinds of infection poster
- 2019 Novel Coronavirus awareness information in Chin (Hakha) language
- 2019 Novel Coronavirus awareness information in Chin (Hualngo) language
- Handwashing poster
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