“My grandmother’s blood oxygen level dropped to 80% and she couldn’t eat or drink. At the end, she was so weak that she couldn’t breathe from the oxygen tank. Losing a family member in front of my eyes really made me understand the danger of COVID-19.”
In early October 2021, Elizabeth’s whole family came down with COVID-19 in their village in Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. The country was in the midst of a devastating third wave that killed many thousands of people. The health system, already shattered by political unrest, was overwhelmed. On January 2, 2022, five days after the first confirmed cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant were detected in Myanmar, a new oxygen generation plant supported by Community Partners International and the Access to Health Fund opened at a facility operated by the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW) in Hpa-An, Kayin (Karen) State.
Changing Farming Practices to Improve Food Security in Myanmar’s Naga Self-Administered Zone1/26/2022
In Myanmar’s Naga Self-Administered Zone, crop yields for farmers practicing traditional slash-and burn agriculture have been falling due to climate change and deforestation. With support from a private donor, Community Partners International (CPI) launched a pilot project to help communities to adopt new and sustainable farming practices and improve their food security.
Moments after the health post’s doors opened for the very first time on Thursday, December 2, 2021, eight-year-old Omme came in with her father Abul. She was suffering from abdominal pain and fever. The doctor on duty saw Omme immediately and provided care. “Everyone is helpful here,” remarked Abul. “The doctor listened carefully and gave my daughter medicine. I am happy.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic closed Myanmar’s schools in June 2020, Htar’s nine-year-old daughter Tweltar reacted as most children would. “At the start, she was happy that she didn't need to go to school and could play at home much more than before,” Htar explains. But, as school closures lengthened from weeks into months, Tweltar changed her mind. “Gradually, she realized that her school had been closed for a long time and she wanted to start learning again."
Yan Win Soe, founder of the Myanmar Community Health Society (MCHS), knows well the personal tragedies that the third wave of COVID-19 unleashed on the people of Myanmar. “My elder sister got COVID-19 and died due to lack of oxygen at the critical time.”
For Rohingya refugees in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, cholera is an ever-present threat. The cramped and crowded conditions, limited access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, and seasonal flooding create an environment in which cholera can quickly take hold. Rohingya volunteers supported by Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill are assisting a cholera vaccination campaign that has successfully reached 96% of refugees in their catchment areas since October 10.
In late August, Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill broke ground on a new health post in Camp 1W of Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Scheduled to open by the end of October, the health post will offer free primary health care services to Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi host communities in the surrounding area.
In April, conflict in Chin State, western Myanmar, pushed villagers over the border into India where the Delta variant of COVID-19 was spreading rapidly. Soon after they returned, COVID-19 cases in Chin State began to spike. Due to Myanmar’s ongoing political crisis, the local public health system had little capacity to respond. Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner the Hualngo Land Development Organization (HLDO) mobilized to provide COVID-19 prevention and care to people in desperate need.
For the 10th consecutive year, Community Partners International (CPI) has received the full 4-Star rating for best practice financial stewardship, accountability and transparency from Charity Navigator, the largest and most-utilized independent nonprofit evaluator in the U.S. The rating includes a perfect 100% score for accountability and transparency.
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April 2024
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