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UN-HABITAT | About Us

About Us

UN-Habitat Myanmar

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlement development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. UN-Habitat’s mandate is further derived from other internationally agreed-upon development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The New Urban Agenda approved in Quito in 2016 sets the standards for achieving SDG 11, which calls to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.”

UN-Habitat established a presence in Myanmar in the early 1990’s through 2004 during which time the agency pioneered the ‘People’s Process’ by establishing the first community led projects in the Dry Zone, Shan State and the Delta. Over 2.1 million people were supported through developing community social infrastructure networks and facilitating access to safe water. The Community Water Supply and Sanitation (CWSS) and Community Initiative Support Facilities (CISF) programmes were implemented by UN-Habitat during that period. The agency also extended substantive assistance for the design of the Human Development Initiative (HDI) for UNDP & partnered in implementation of HDI 1, HDI 2 and HDI 3.

UN-Habitat re-established a country office in 2008. Since then, UN-Habitat has been assisting the people of Myanmar through operational and normative projects. In 2009 to 2019, UN-Habitat intensified its support in normative areas by providing technical assistance to several ministries and stakeholders in policy and strategy development and training in the areas of Urban Planning and Management, National Building Code Development, City Development Strategy, National Housing Policy formulation, Land Administration and Management, Urban Research and Poverty Reduction, and the adoption of the Myanmar Climate Change Policy, Strategy, and Master Plan.

In early 2020, UN-Habitat responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by taking preventive measures and providing support to communities in the informal settlements of Yangon and Sittwe Town in Rakhine State. UN-Habitat implemented several initiatives to help protect these communities from the transmission of COVID-19, including providing access to safe water and sanitation to reduce the risk of transmission, installing handwashing stations in key locations, distributing IEC materials and healthcare packages to families, supporting community-led initiatives to promote social distancing, and other preventive measures. These initiatives helped to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the informal settlements of Yangon. They also strengthened the capacity of these communities to respond to future health emergencies.

Today, UN-Habitat continues to implement several normative and operational activities to improve community infrastructure and basic services in settlements while addressing cross-cutting issues such as gender, disaster risk reduction, the environment, and climate change. As part of its normative activities, UN-Habitat is providing technical assistance on issues related to the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, UN-Habitat is working to achieve SDG 11, which aims to make cities and other human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

As of now, UN-Habitat has implemented 42 projects in 70 townships across the country, with 18 aimed at improving human settlements and rebuilding communities, 11 aimed at disaster risk management and building a resilient community, 7 aimed at urban planning, management, and governance, and 1 aimed at the environment, resilience-building, and climate change. Over 1.5 million people have benefited from safe drinking water and improved sanitation, as well as the construction of over 500 bridges and culverts and 1,000 roads and the training of over 5,000 carpenters in DRR construction techniques. Over 200,000 people have received climate change education, and 300,000 people have benefited from disaster risk reduction building techniques.

Currently, UN-Habitat is working in 8 townships in Yangon Region, 2 townships in Shan State, 2 townships in Ayeyarwady Region, and 1 township in Mandalay Region through its field offices under its operational project, Community-Driven Development. UN-Habitat’s work in Myanmar is helping to improve the lives of millions of people. The projects are helping to make communities more resilient to disasters and climate change, improve access to basic services, and build sustainable human settlements.