KOICA Provides COVID-19 Prevention Supplies to 40,000 Myanmar Refugees

Providing Quarantine Supplies and Daily Necessities Sets to Refugees in Rakhine State

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) announced on the 23rd that it will support $300,000 worth of quarantine supplies and daily necessities sets to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Rakhine State, western Myanmar, in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to respond to COVID-19.

The donation event held on the 23rd (local time) was attended by Lee Sang-hwa, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Myanmar; Lee Yeon-su, Director of KOICA Myanmar Office; and U Win Shwe, Deputy Director of Myanmar’s Ministry of Social Security, Relief and Resettlement. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Win Myat Aye, Minister of Myanmar’s Ministry of Social Security, Relief and Resettlement, and U Kyaw Aye Thein, Minister of Planning, Finance, Taxation and Economy of Rakhine State Government, participated via video conference.

This support was carried out as part of the Korean government’s “ODA KOREA: Building TRUST” initiative for development cooperation for a safer world together, under KOICA’s ABC program. Myanmar is one of the nine priority quarantine cooperation countries selected under this development cooperation initiative.

According to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of last year, Myanmar had about 310,000 internally displaced persons due to civil war and natural disasters, of whom approximately 130,000 reside in Rakhine State, located in the western border region of Myanmar.

Internally displaced persons living in temporary shelters with poor hygiene levels and medical facilities are a vulnerable group more affected by new infectious diseases such as COVID-19. As of the 21st, Myanmar has about 40,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with more than 1,000 new daily cases consistently occurring.

The quarantine supplies and daily necessities sets for Myanmar’s internally displaced persons include masks and hand sanitizers essential for COVID-19 prevention. Considering the vulnerable conditions of IDPs exposed to complex infectious disease risks such as deteriorating hygiene conditions during the rainy season and the prevalence of endemic infectious diseases like malaria and dengue fever, mosquito nets and waterproof sheets are also provided.

KOICA plans to begin distributing the supplies in November. Through this support, approximately 41,000 people in 8,370 households of Myanmar’s internally displaced persons are expected to benefit. Lee Yeon-su, Director of KOICA Myanmar Office, said, “Since the early spread of COVID-19, KOICA has collaborated with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Myanmar to provide diagnostic kits, various supplies necessary for COVID-19 diagnosis, quarantine, and local livelihood support in Myanmar, as well as activities to raise awareness of infectious diseases. KOICA will continue to actively participate in Myanmar government’s efforts to respond to COVID-19.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.