Rapid Needs Assessment in Kayah State
32
Rapid Needs Assessment in Kayah State Key Findings June 2021
Transcript of Rapid Needs Assessment in Kayah State
Rapid Needs Assessment in Kayah State
Key Findings
June 2021
Background – Kayah State
• dKey Indicators
Total population: 330,815 (2019), 51.2% are female
Children under 18: 130,010 (2019), 39.3% of total population
% of children living below poverty line (2017): 38.2%
Total number of households: 66,836 (2019)
Recent Conflict Situation
▪ Major clashes and fighting in Kayah State (May 2010).
▪ Civilians from the affected townships fled into nearby
villages, forests, farms or other townships where
community members provided support for the displaced
people.
▪ Among the 4 townships where the assessment was
conducted, Demoso and Phruso Townships have been the
most affected by clashes.
▪ Insecurity is hampering access by humanitarian partners.
▪ Objective: Generate evidence on the impact of the COVID-19, military
takeover and recent conflict on household level basic needs, particularly
children and women.
▪ Multi-dimensional approach: covering Health, Nutrition, Education, WASH,
Child and Social Protection.
▪ Evidence enables UNICEF to provide humanitarian assistance and advocate,
coordinate on humanitarian response.
▪ Data collection was deployed between 30th May – 1st June 2021.
▪ 200 respondents (156 respondents, accounting for 78%, had children under
18 in their families) sampled from the four most affected townships, namely
Bawlakhe, Demoso, Loikaw and Phruso.
▪ Questionnaire designed by UNICEF, deployed using KoBoToolbox and survey
conducted by UNICEF Partner Mekong Economics.
Rapid Needs Assessment: Objective and Methodology
Challenges
▪ Extremely short time-frame, particularly given the challenging location & the sample size
of 200 respondents.
▪ Given the seriousness of the situation, difficult to find respondents who were able to talk
to enumerators.
▪ Due to severely limited internet access, no enumerator training online; training
conducted over phone in small groups (2-3 enumerators township).
▪ Limited mobile network and internet in select townships, including Phruso and Bawlakhe.
Limitations
▪ Sample was not randomly selected. List of respondents was compiled from different
sources and snow-balled.
▪ Given the rapid nature of these surveys, it's not possible to 1) ask lots of questions, 2)
ask any sensitive questions, 3) ask open-ended questions for detailed qualitative insight
and 4) conduct more rigorous analysis.
General Information of Respondents and Families
351 children under 18 (175 girls)
Majority of respondents aged 24-49 (72%)
258 children (74%) aged 6 and over
52% of respondents are female
Average family size was just under 6 –
consistent across all 4 townships
156 out of 200 families have children under 18
Change of Location
115 respondents (58
per cent) indicated
the change of their
families’ location
since the 1st of May
2021.
Nearly 90% of
respondents changed
their families’ location
over the last one
week (i.e., week
beginning 24th of May
2021).
5%
31%
13%26%
18%
5%
2%
Current Living Location
Own house / no change
Friends / relative’s house in same township
Friends / relatives house inother township
IDP camp
Forest
Church
Tents pitched in fields
Access to
Health Services
23.3
43.5
53.1
58.6
60.0
73.3
75.0
84.6
85.2
0 20 40 60 80 100
Medicines/Treatment of commonillness
Any other
Immunization for children
Treatment of Injury
Infant Young Child Feeding counselling
Maternal health care (antenatal,delivery, post-natal)
Malnutrition treatment
Newborn health care
Covid testing or treatment
% of respondents whose family members needed services (among all respondents)
% of respondents whose family members needed but could not access services (amongrespondents whose family members needed services)
Evidence of barriers in access to
health services for those who
need them
▪ Only 15 per cent of people who
needed Covid-19 testing or
treatment were able to access
▪ Restricted access for maternal and
newborn related services, and child-
related health and nutrition services
▪ Only half of the children who
needed immunization received it,
increasing risks of preventable
disease
▪ Highest needs is the
medicines/treatment of common
illness
“I have an 11-month-old baby (Girl) and she got her latest vaccination inMarch 2021. Almost all Basic Health Staff (BHS) from the health centresin our local area have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)against the military takeover, therefore, she (the baby) hasn’t hadanother appointment to receive her next immunisation shot. I, as amother, am worried that she will not receive the full dose of the vaccinein this current situation,”
[Phruso Township]
Barriers to accessing health services (n=34)
82.4
52.9
41.2
35.3
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Service was not available (due to reasons other than lock-down/movement restriction and/or armed violence
Lockdown / movement restriction
Armed violence
Financial constraints (no money to pay for service)
By sex of respondents (unit: %)
Total Female Male
Main barriers to accessing health services were service unavailability not due to lockdown/movement restrictions or armed violence
Food Security
and
Nutrition
Large proportion of respondents
indicated big increase in prices for all 3
essential items (rice, cooking oil and
fuel), a trend that seemed to be
happening with COVID-19, but
exacerbated in the last one month
84.0
68.0
72.0
36.0
65.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Total
Big increase in price of rice Slightly increase in price of rice
No change in price of rice
90.0
70.0
72.0
54.0
71.5
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Total
Big increase in price of cooking oil
Slightly increase in price of cooking oil
No change in price of cooking oil
96.0
98.0
72.0
82.0
87.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Total
Big increase in price of fuel Slightly increase in price of fuel
Closed shops, markets and Lock-down/movement restriction are most common challenge
68% of respondents in Loikaw indicated armed conflict as main barrier to getting food
73.5
68.0
40.075.0
66.5
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Male
Female
Total
Challenges faced in getting food (%), by township and sex of respondents
Other
Financial constraints (nomoney to pay for service)
Shops/markets are closed
Armed violence in thetownship
Lockdown/ movementrestriction
Food Consumption
48.0
88.0
92.0
88.0
72.6
84.8
79.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Male
Female
Total
% of respondents expressing concerns over not having enough
to eat in the next week
79.0
79.0
35.0
30.5
9.0
2.0
2.0
0.5
0 20 40 60 80 100
Eat less in a meal
Worried about food
Eat fewer food types
Cut down healthy food
Skipped meals
Be hungry/Run out of food
No concerns at all
Not eat for a whole day
Current challenges in fulfilling food requirements by sex of respondents (%)
Total Female Male
Water, Sanitation
and Hygiene
19% of families do not have sufficient
drinking water
21.5% of families do not have sufficient
water for cooking, washing and for latrine
use
38.5% of families do not have access to
improved water sources
12.0
15.0
8.0
13.5
33.0
0 10 20 30 40
Piped in to dwelling/yard plot
Public tap/stand pipe
Tubewell/borehole
Protected dug well
protected spring
rain water
bottled water
unprotected dug well
unprotected spring
Tanker truck/cart with drum
Surface water
other (CDC's piped water)
Primary Sources of Drinking Water by Sex of Respondents (%)
Male Female Both sexes
Access to Water
34.0
62.0
96.054.0
63.8
58.9
61.5
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Female
Male
Total
% of families accessing improved water sources by township and sex of
respondents
66% of families in Demoso encountered difficulty in accessing the water supply
or disruption of water services in the last one month
26.8
12.5
67.9
16.1
8.9
64.3
3.6
0 50 100
Lockdown / movement…
Armed violence in the…
Lack of own water source…
Disconnection of water…
Financial constraints (lack…
Drying
Other
Reasons for water access difficulty by sex of respondents (%)
Both sexes Female Male
18.2
3.0
69.7
15.2
63.6
58.3
50.0
25.0
41.7
75.0
18.2
72.7
9.1
54.5
0 20 40 60 80
Lockdown / movement restriction
Armed violence in the township
Lack of own water source (no pipedwater or dug well in own dwelling/yard)
Disconnection of water supply (due toreasons other than lock-…
Financial constraints (lack of income tobuy water)
Drying
Other
Reasons for water access difficulty by township (%)
Phruso Loikaw Demoso
Education: Alternative
Learning Modalities
0.8
3.9
95.3
0 20 40 60 80 100
Yes, all children
Yes, some children
None
Access to Alternative Learning Modalities of children aged 6 and over by township and sex of respondents (%)
Total Female Male Phruso Loikaw Demoso Bawlakhe
Only 6 out of 129
families with
children aged 6
and over
indicated that
their children are
accessing
alternative
learning
modalities.
29.2
2.9 5.6 7.3 8.1 7.8
41.7
82.4 82.9
63.967.3
71.6 69.8
29.2
14.7 17.1
30.625.5
20.3 22.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Bawlakhe Demoso Loikaw Phruso Male Female Total
Planning to send children to school in June 2021 (%) by township and sex of respondents
Yes No Don't know
Few families are planning to send children to school in June. 69.8% are sure
they will not, and 22.5% are unsure.
Mental Health
People are suffering from depression and anxiety, including children.
94.0
58.0
92.0
96.0
85.7
84.2
85.0
38.0
9.5
9.5
9.5
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Female
Male
Total
How often the respondents feel very anxious, nervous, sad or worried by township and sex
of respondents (%)
Daily Weekly Monthly A few times a year Never
74.0
100.0
100.0
98.0
94.3
91.6
93.0
20.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Female
Male
Total
Changes in respondents feeling anxious, nervous, sad or worried compared to last
one month by township and sex of respondents (%)
Has deteriorated Has improved No change
Children’s feeling becomes more anxious, nervous, sad or worried compared to last one month
88.2
24.4
78.9
86.0
71.4
65.3
68.6
18.4
41.5
9.5
13.9
11.5
11.8
34.1
11.6
13.1
16.7
14.7
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Female
Male
Total
How often children in the respondents’ families feel very anxious, nervous, sad or worried, by
township and sex of respondents (%)
Daily Weekly Monthly A few times a year Never
55.9
68.3
89.5
88.4
76.2
76.4
76.3
8.8 35.3
29.3
10.5
11.6
21.4
20.8
21.2
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Female
Male
Total
Changes in children feeling anxious, nervous, sad or worried compared to last one month,
by township and sex of respondents (%)
Has deteriorated Has improved No change
Family Income
and
Assistance
62.0
98.0
98.0
98.0
89.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Total
% of families with no income at present by township
18.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
82.0
100.0
98.0
96.0
94.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Total
Family’s income changed compared to last one month, by township (%)
Decrease Same
Almost all of families have no income at present and the situation worsens compared to the last one month.
Coping
Strategies
Reduced food and non-food consumption are 2 most common coping strategies of families
0 20 40 60 80 100
Additional activities
Sold harvest in advance
Borrowed from friends / family
Loan from money lender
Loan from financial institution
Credited purchases
Delayed payment
Sale of assets
Relied on savings
Reduced food consumption
Reduced non-food consumption
Coping Strategies, by township (%)
Phruso Loikaw Demoso Bawlakhe
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Additional activities
Sold harvest in advance
Borrowed from friends / family
Loan from money lender
Loan from financial institution
Credited purchases
Delayed payment
Sale of assets
Relied on savings
Reduced food consumption
Reduced non-food consumption
Coping Strategies, by Sex of Respondents (%)
Total Male Female
Needs and
Assistance
Only 20.5% of respondents’ families have received external assistance since May 2021
82.9% receiving food, 41.5% receiving non-food items and 16.4% receiving cash
0
16
23
2
41
0.0
32.0
46.0
4.0
20.5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Bawlakhe Demoso Loikaw Phruso Total
(%)
Nu
mb
er
Number and proportion of families received external assistance after 1st May 2021
Number of families received external assistance after 1st May 2021
Proportion of families received external assistance after 1st May 2021
16
17
1
34
13
4
17
1
3
2
6
0 10 20 30 40
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Total
Number and type of external assistance received by families after the 1st of May
2021 by township
Other Cash Non-food items Food
Food items is the most essential needs of most of surveyed townships while
the needs for medicine and health care services ranks the second
80.0
90.0
62.0
76.0
77.0
14.0
10.0
38.0
24.0
21.5
0 20 40 60 80 100
Bawlakhe
Demoso
Loikaw
Phruso
Total
Most preferred modality assistance in the current situation by township (%)
in kind in cash don't know
0.5
1.0
5.0
14.0
24.5
55.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Non-food items
Water, Sanitation andHygiene services
Shelter
Other
Medicine, health careservices
Food items
Most essential needs of families at present by township (%)
Total Phruso Loikaw Demoso Bawlakhe
KEY MESSAGES
Clear deterioration of the situation in the past month
Armed conflict is among the main reasons behind barriers to accessing health services, food and water
Families have had to opt for serious coping mechanisms, including reduction of food and non-food consumption, which undermining the well-being of children
People are suffering from depression and anxiety, including children
Loss and decrease of family’s income is a critical concern for almost all respondents
Children continue losing out of education and learning
For more information:
Jawad Aslam
Chief, Social Policy & Child Rights Monitoring
E-mail: [email protected]
