Myanmar reform plans fail to reach worst COVID-hit sectors (Myanmar Times)

MW Times published an article stating that economic reforms planned by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, fresh from a landslide election victory, offer long-term liberalization, but are thin on immediate help for those worst hit by the pandemic. According to IFPRI, (Poverty, food insecurity, and social protection during COVID-19 in Myanmar: Combined evidence from a household telephone survey and micro-simulations), Myanmar’s poverty rate skyrocketed from 16 percent in January to over 60 percent in September. Rural populations had no choice but to consume rats and snakes, indicating the government’s social protection program of K20,000 cash support and food rations under the CERP were insufficient.