COVID -19 and Food Security in Chin State: A chance to reform the status quo:

Yangon, May 2020

Thang Deih Tuang, Jeff Williamson

For many communities in Chin State, the memory of the 2007 famine is a constant. After an
infestation of rats had moved through the region’s rich bamboo forests, they began decimating
crops and food supplies. 100,000 people were in need of immediate food aid; up to 82 percent
of farmland was destroyed, school enrollment halved, and 54 people, mostly children, died.

The events of 2007 were not an anomaly. Chin State is Myanmar’s poorest state, in which 75
percent of people live under the poverty line. The high levels of poverty, alongside decades of
economic and political discrimination, labor shortages and market failures, have contributed to
chronic food insecurity and malnutrition. According to government data, 41 percent of children
in Chin State experience stunted growth—the highest in the country.

The Myanmar government and civil society organizations have indeed worked hard to improve
food security and reduce malnutrition in Myanmar and Chin State. For example, the
government initiated the Myanmar Multi-Sectoral National Plan of Action on Nutrition (MS-
NPAN) (2018/19-2022/23) in 2018. The indicative total cost to implement it is MMK 929.7
billion (USD 663.6 million). Nonetheless, food security, which is a fundamental human right,
remains one of Chin States’ greatest challenges.

A dangerous cycle

On 23 March 2020, the issue of food security was exacerbated by the arrival of another
challenge: the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after the first case was diagnosed in Chin State, the
local government imposed a lockdown and social distancing policies along with other travel
restrictions.

People in Chin State are particularly susceptible to COVID-19. The World Health Organization
(WHO) recommends that the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to boost immune
systems. Yet the rampant malnutrition in Chin State and the common occurrence of diarrhea,
malaria and tuberculosis place many people at a higher risk of contracting the disease.
Moreover, the conflict between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army (AA) in the northern part of
Chin State have forced thousands of Chin civilians into refugee camps, further weakening their
food security and health.

Together, these issues – malnutrition, COVID-19 and weak food security—may exert a cyclical
effect on one another. Just a few months ago, in April, the UN warned that the pandemic may
double the malnutrition rate across the globe and lead to a Global Food Crisis.
Chin State is not prepared for this. Currently, many people are using “coping mechanisms,” as it
is called in the development circle, to survive. These mechanisms rely on help and donations
from neighbors and friends. Although this may work when a natural disaster hits a particular
area, it won’t suffice during a global pandemic. Meanwhile, the second source of support
comes from remittances, which is money sent from people working and living abroad. After the
mass out-migrations in Chin State during the 1990s, many families became dependent on
remittances. This is because poor soil fertility, water scarcity, limited access to quality seeds
and markets, as well as the migration itself have undermined farming efforts and development
interventions. Consequently, many villagers are unable to grow their own crops and have to
source their food from Kalay Township in the Sagaing Region. But as the pandemic grips the
world’s economy, remittances are predicted to fall by 20 percent. This, just like the conflict in
the north, will have a negative impact on food security and, in turn, communities’ ability to fend
off the pandemic.

This pandemic is thus raising some major alarms. The Chin community, in general, and
Myanmar politicians, in particular, should prioritize food and nutritional security as a key
component of their COVID-19 response.

Upending the cycle

To upend the cycle of disease and malnutrition, we need a strategic and comprehensive plan to
tackle food security. This should include an emphasis on the Food and Agriculture
Organization’s four pillars of food security – availability, access, stability and utilization.

To address the first pillar, the government needs to ensure that food supplies are considered as
essential services similar to healthcare and banking. The government and aid agencies then
need to provide an adequate domestic supply of food without any delay, particularly to hard-
to-reach areas in Chin State.

The government should establish a transparent food supply chain so suppliers cannot take
advantage of the lockdown and curfew policy to raise the price of basic necessities. A sharp
price increase and change in market prices will disproportionately affect poor family
households. At the local level, the Chin State government should implement a policy that
provides direct transfers of food stamps or money to address the needs of the most vulnerable
populations.

If we do not take into consideration the impact the pandemic will have on food security in Chin
State and its connection to ongoing malnutrition and disease, then we risk perpetuating the
cycle. This will have long lasting impacts on the physical, emotional and socio-economic
development of Chin State’s most vulnerable communities, many of who are already facing
food insecurity. Upending the cycle is now more important than ever as the next global crisis—
the Global Food Crisis—begins to take shape. We cannot fight either challenge alone.
Thang Deih Tuang is a freelance researcher and journalist working in Myanmar with and
interest in, food security, land governance, freedom of expression, and conflict and peace
process.

I thank my colleague "Jeff Williamson for editing my article. He is a researcher and

communication professional working in Southeast Asia with an interest in natural resource
governance, conflict and peace processes."