Bilateral development aid - 2018
In 2018 a number Polish Aid initatives in Myanmar were carried over from previous years. The Polish Medical Mission carried out the second module of the project entitled “Myanmar – obstetric and educational activities, medical activities and WASH in the Irrawaddy Delta Region” Almost 2,000 children were vaccinated, and 1,300 of them trained on basics of hygiene and epidemics prevention. Constructing ten rainwater cisterns allowed access to potable water in a region where pollution of underground waters prevents the use of traditional deep water wells.
The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Bangkok, acting through its office in Rangoon, completed six development projects in 2018. Three projects were carried out on behalf of Myanmar refugees, mostly from the Karen ethnic minority living near the Myanmar border in the Thai province of Tak, to improve the level of educating young people. Refugees from Myanmar, having no access to public Thai schools, are forced to use specific educational facilities which are often crowded and underinvested. Polish support for these facilities included the purchase of educational materials and textbooks for, among others, learning Thai and specialist subjects. In addition, 75 teachers were trained on modern teaching methods and motivating pupils to continue their education.
The new school infrastructure benefitted the inhabitants of Wakema district, where the local primary and secondary schools were expanded. Additional classrooms and libraries, as well as newly purchased school equipment, improved the educational conditions of almost 1,500 pupils. The efforts in Wakema also increased the visibility of Polish Aid and Polish Medical Mission activities. With the involvement of the Polish mission, pumping stations and water cisterns were erected for the population of three villages in Shwegyin district in Bago region and connected to existing infrastructure, providing over 4,000 people with access to clean water.
The Polish development support for Myanmar in 2018 also included the disbursement of funds under a loan agreement between the governments of Poland and Myanmar, signed in April 2017.
In 2018, the total ODA for Myanmar was PLN 181.23 million
