Health impact assessment (HIA) is a relatively new concept within the Thai policy-making arena. From a human security perspective, the HIA has the potential to be a practical tool to empower local communities in protecting their health. One important element of the HIA is the process of public participation. While the HIA mechanism requires public participation at various stages of the process, the risk remains that the effect of public participation on the final HIA-outcome is limited.
Shaw, M. (2010) Making Humanitarian Action Accountable: A Case Study of Humanitarian Accountability Partnership Certification and Thailand Burma Border Consortium
The development and aid sector has undergone a general professionalization, which lately has paved the way for a number of quality and accountability mechanisms. These are intended to provide evidence of impact and to demonstrate that NGOs support their intended beneficiaries in a justifiable manner. One of the recent initiatives is the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP). It is a self-regulatory NGO-initiative which has a primary focus on certifying member organisations against benchmarked standards for humanitarian action and has lately come to be known as the loudest champion of beneficiary voices.
Manser, B. (2010) Reproductive Health of an Ethnic Group on the Margin of a Militarized State: A Case Study of Chin Women in a Village on the India-Burma Border
In the context of a militarized State such as Burma this research sheds light on the effects that military rule has had on reproductive health in ethnic areas such as Chin State. In 1997 the Burmese State ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and has specific obligations in terms of health care and family planning. However until the present time, health care policies and delivery mechanisms are highly centralized and controlled by the military, which has affected reproductive health, with infant mortality rates that are substantially higher than regional and international levels.
Pan, S. (2010) Sustainability and Outreach of a Kachin Church Microfinance Institution in Burma
Title: Sustainability and Outreach of a Kachin Church Microfinance Institution in Burma
Author: Seng Nu Pan
Year: 2010
Keywords: MICROFINANCE, SUSTAINABILITY/OUTREACH/SOCIAL CAPITAL
Download PDF of Abstract: English Thai
Abstract:
There is increasing interest in Muhammad Yunus's Grameen Bank microfinance model as a means of addressing the needs of Burma's poverty, but there have been no studies of locally led micro-finance institutions (MFIs) in Burma. This study assesses the sustainability and outreach of a church-run microfinance institution in northern Burma bringing to the fore borrowers' perspectives on impacts by examining the tensions between sustainability and outreach, and the influence of church social capital.
The credit union is operationally sustainable but it is not financially sustainable due to poor management, weak organizational structure, inappropriate loan methodology, imperfect information, borrower deception, Kachin cultural values about small income-generating activities, and the broader political and economic environment in Burma. The study finds that the credit union faces a trade-off between sustainability and its outreach to the poor. It attains only 30% repayment rates as most borrowers, particularly the poor often use their loans for consumption rather than generation incomes leaving them entrenched in debt rather than helping them escape from poverty.
The role of church social capital in sustainability and outreach is complex as it can facilitate outreach and compromise repayment rates. Yet despite its imperfections, the credit union does help alleviate the poverty of some church members by allowing them to develop human capital and financing micro-enterprises. Church members consider it the best provider of financial services in their locale.
Contact MAIDS-Chula for more information and full thesis at maidschula@gmail.com
Tag Cloud
BIOPOWER CIVIL SOCIETY COASTAL GOVERNANCE COMMUNITY CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY COUNTRY RECONSTRUCTURE CURRENT EDUCATION IN THE CAMP DEMOCRACY IN BURMA DEMOCRATIZATION DEVELOPMENT DISCOURSE EDUCATION EUROPEAN UNION GOOD GOVERNANCE GOVERNANCE FACTORS HIGHER EDUCATION HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE ICM INDONESIA INSTITUTIONS INTEGRATED COASTAL MANAGEMENT KAREN REFUGEES KHMER ROUGE LIVELIHOOD MIGRATION MYANMAR NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT NGO OTOP PARTICIPATORY MANGROVE FORESTRY REINTEGRATION RESISTANCE SHADOW STATE POLITICS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL MOVEMENT SUSTAINABLE COASTAL DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TAK PROVINCE THAI-BURMA BORDER THAI-KAREN PEOPLE THAI FEMALE THAILAND THAKSIN SHINAWATRA WORK OPPORTUNITIES WORLD SOCIAL FORUM