LIFT Rakhine Programme Call for Concept Notes

Objectives of the Call for Concept Notes
LIFT’s programming in Rakhine is guided by the LIFT strategy 2019-2023. LIFT’s purpose is to strengthen the resilience and sustainable livelihoods of poor and vulnerable groups in Myanmar , particularly women, internally displaced people and returnees, migrants,
smallholder farmers, landless people, people with disabilities and those vulnerable to
trafficking and forced labour.
LIFT seeks to contribute to this purpose through three impact-level outcomes:
● Improved nutritional status, particularly of women and children
● Increased household income and assets, with greater control by women
● Reduced vulnerability of households and individuals to shocks, stresses and
risks
Rakhine State is one of the least developed areas of Myanmar, with an estimated 78 percent of people living on less than USD 1.25 a day. According to UNICEF, nearly 50 per cent of children under five suffer from stunting. Unemployment rates are three times the national average and labour force participation is the lowest in the country, with just under 59 percent of the population aged over 15 economically active, compared to 67 percent nationally.
Rakhine is generally far behind the national averages.
About 125,000 people, mainly muslim, remain displaced in camps after intercommunal
violence that erupted in 2012 1 . In 2017, more than 742,000 people fled to Bangladesh to
escape the military operations in Maungdaw District. Most muslims in Rakhine are denied
citizenship rights and the related formal and informal movement restrictions result in denied access to basic public services and limited livelihood options, which results in a high dependency on assistance for food, hygiene and other basic household needs. Significant barriers remain to identifying sustainable and durable solutions for those in camps and for host communities who need livelihood support to reduce this dependency, build resilience and offer prospects for greater dignity.
Intercommunal tensions remain high and call for a more effective participation of affected populations and participatory community planning as a pathway towards peaceful coexistence and peace building. Issues of housing, land and properties 2 for internally displaced persons crystallise many of the barriers to their return, resettlement and access to services. Until now these issues have been largely overlooked. If not properly addressed,they will continue to undermine efforts and potential gains made towards increased social cohesion and a more peaceful coexistence.
The armed conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army takes a heavy toll on the civilian population and adds further complexity to the relations between the Union
Government, the State Government and the populations living in Rakhine. 105,090
individuals are displaced in 205 sites or host communities in Rakhine and Chin State 3 and now depend on humanitarian assistance to cover their basic needs. Recurrent military and police scrutiny, arrests and increasing protection incidents hamper the population’s well-being, trust in local authorities and an already limited social cohesion.
Due to high levels of vulnerability, Rakhine State will pay a heavy price in the socio-economic crisis arising from the consequences of COVID-19, unless mitigated. Rakhine has the highest poverty rate 4 in the country and capacities to cope with the socio-economic shocks brought by the pandemic are limited. Trade, value chains, household livelihoods and food security have been affected from the onset of the pandemic resulting in losses of incomes. Across the country, including Rakhine, communities have reported that “two-thirds of the households in their communities experienced a decline in income” between January and June 2020 5 . For vulnerable households, such as internally displaced persons, main coping strategies have been to reduce expenditures, including on basic needs, and resorting to using savings and going into debt. Extended measures put in place to limit contaminations have had the adverse effect to reduce purchasing power, decrease access to food and augment the risks that vulnerable households resort to harmful strategies. The nutritional status of children in Rakhine is among the worst in the country, with 38 percent of children aged under five stunted and 14 per cent wasted. 6 With health resources prioritised for the COVID-19 response, the delivery of basic health and nutrition services has been affected, particularly in rural areas and camps for internally displaced persons. These are additional compounding factors to worsen the nutritional status of mothers and young children. Poverty is expected to “rise above its pre-pandemic level with many poor households likely to
be persistently and more deeply impoverished in 2020”. 7 Remittances from migrants - vital in normal times to support small businesses and families’ basic needs - are drying up. This is expected to result in a nationwide rise of the poverty rate by up to 7.5 percentage points 8 .With more than two million internal migrants originating from Rakhine 9 , the loss of remittances will hit Rakhine hard economically.This economic slowdown is a severe threat for the most vulnerable groups and adds to the significant challenges already brought by protracted conflicts. Internally displaced persons are very poorly equipped to cope with and recover from the pandemic. Available financial resources are hardly sufficient for them to maintain access to basic needs, and options to secure income are rare. Many small and micro business owners in camps and host communities are at risk to sell their productive assets and to be left with no capacities to
make an income. Current levels of access to health-care for Muslims and for those living in areas of armed conflict is extremely limited and constrains capacities to prevent and control infections. Many displaced people have underlying medical conditions and chronic diseases, putting them at a high risk of suffering serious effects from a degradation of their food intake, nutrition or health status. For the most vulnerable in Rakhine State, in particular internally displaced persons, COVID-19 has further exacerbated the prevailing lack of meaningful occupations. With limited prospects to experience more dignified living conditions, there are also accrued risks of gender-based violence, exploitation and human trafficking. The Rakhine Programme for 2021-23 is positioned within a COVID-19 recovery framework . The programme will take into account the experience of Rakhine communities during the COVID-19 crisis, the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, the need to build back better and to build resilience for the most vulnerable and marginalised groups. LIFT’s 2019-2023 strategy works to increasingly bring displaced and conflict-affected persons into LIFT programming and an increasing focus on inclusion and social cohesion. This also means identifying durable solutions for the resettlement of internally displaced persons and camp closure.
The programme will explicitly and intentionally contribute to LIFT’s strategic shifts in
Rakhine, in particular:
● Strengthening civil society as key agents of durable change: Building on recent
increased engagement with civil society organisations in Rakhine, LIFT will further
promote local leadership to strengthen and increase capacities, networking, research,
advocacy and service delivery. Increased communication, coordination and collaboration
between civil society organisations, international actors and the Government will also be
promoted.
● Gender equality and women’s empowerment: LIFT’s gender-responsive programming
will require gender responsive policies and programmes, equal participation so that
women’s voices are heard, increased stakeholder capacities and understanding of gender
issues and support for women to take up leadership roles within their communities.
Targets and data will be gender disaggregated and activities will mainly benefit women.
Gender analysis will provide recommendations to address the barriers that women face
in accessing information, training, resources and services.
● Conflict sensitivity and social cohesion: LIFT will place emphasis on mitigating conflict
and strengthening (or rebuilding) social cohesion as a step towards peace-building. LIFT
will work at the required levels with local communities and stakeholders and within the
humanitarian-development-peace nexus.● Identification and local ownership of durable solutions. Internally displaced
persons and host-communities will be given a stronger voice in decision-making,
including on the resettlement of internally displaced persons and camp closure. LIFT will
build on its former support to rights-based programming and advocacy to support
advocacy work with relevant stakeholders at different levels, including communities, the
Government, civil society and international actors. LIFT will promote people-centered
approaches which respect the rights, dignity and safety in particular in decisions that
impact access to essential services and livelihoods
Details of the scope of the concept notes, including objectives, intervention areas,
target groups, operating principles can be found in Annex 1.
The proposed activities should aim to start by mid 2021 and end before 30 December 2023.
All applicants need to ensure that their concept notes are gender sensitive in line with LIFT’s
Gender Strategy. For further explanations see the guidelines on gender sensitivity in Annex
4.