Where we work
North West Myanmar
Chin State, known locally as the ‘Chin Hills’, due to its mountainous geography, is the second smallest state in Myanmar. It has approximately 479,000 inhabitants living mainly in small to medium-sized rural communities.
Chin State is widely recognised as the most impoverished state in Myanmar. An estimated 73% of inhabitants are unable to meet basic food and non-food needs, compared to the national average of 32%.
Chin State itself is home to over 53 dialects of the Chin languages and almost as many tribal groupings. To reach Health & Hope’s training centre in Lailenpi, it takes two days from Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city: a short flight to Bagan, a seven hour drive to Gangaw, and then a further 15 hours to Lailenpi. Previously, the trip from Yangon took four days alone, with the final stretch involving a back-breaking 18 hours on a motorbike!
The challenges of day to day life
Health
Poor health and a lack of access to medical care are major concerns for the people of Chin State who are among the least healthy in the whole of Myanmar. Chin State has the highest incidence of malaria and diseases of the digestive system. The primary causes of death are from preventable and curable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria. Medicines are scarce and expensive, there is no fully functioning hospital in the region, and less than one fifth of the necessary medical doctor positions are filled.
It is estimated that nearly 7% of children in Chin State die before their 5th birthday, more than twice the national average. The principle causes of death are treatable, such as diarrhoea, acute lung infections and malaria, exacerbated by underlying malnutrition.
Only half of all pregnant women in the State receive antenatal care by a trained professional. Less than 6% give birth in a health facility. Many women give birth alone, or with untrained assistance.
Education
Pre-school education in Chin State is severely limited. Often, children aged 3-5 years receive no teaching in their own ethnic language. These problems continue into primary school and, combined with high levels of household poverty, contribute to a school drop-out rate of 18% by 11 years of age.
The drop-out rate is highest amongst the poorest, who rely on children to perform domestic and farming duties, and to care for younger siblings while parents work. Poor households are also less likely to be able to cope with economic shocks resulting from loss of employment, illness or death. In rural areas, these factors, combined with lack of access to educational services, and exams that are often set in non-ethnic languages result in less than 5.5% of youths in Chin State making it through school to pass their critical Grade 10 exams.
Food Security
Traditional livelihoods in Chin State are rooted in agriculture; usually paddy rice, mobile fowl and livestock farms, and slash and burn crop-planting techniques. However, deforestation and changes in rainfall and the climate are reducing farmers' harvest. Cash crops cannot compete with lowland products or those arriving from other countries. Falling yields of rice and maize, the local staple diet, are all factors making life harder. In addition, safe water supplies for drinking and crop irrigation are insufficient for local demand.
Since 2000, food consumption has declined. Food insecurity and hunger are common in rural areas for several months every year. This has resulted in widespread malnutrition, and the stunted growth of 58% of children in Chin State, the highest in Myanmar.
Military Coup - February 2021
On 1 February 2021, Prime Minister of Myanmar Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, seized control of the country from the democratically
elected National League for Democracy of 2020, (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyii. Sham elections held in December 2025 have
now only strengthened the military’s position as they seek legitimacy in the eyes of the world, even as atrocities continue.
The military coup has resulted in violent clashes, thousands facing food insecurity and the collapse of basic services. According to data from the United Nations, over 16 million people are now in need of humanitarian aid. Total current displacement now stands at nearly 3.8 million people nationwide. It is estimated that over 300,000 refugees have fled Myanmar since the latest crisis began.
“Children are bearing the brunt of the crisis with 6 million children in need as a result of displacement, interrupted health care and education, food insecurity and malnutrition, and protection risks including forced recruitment and mental distress,” warned Marcoluigi Corsi, the UN’s interim humanitarian coordinator for Myanmar.
According to ACLED, a conflict monitoring group estimates that 100,000 people have been killed since the coup began and over 30,000 people arrested by the Tatmadaw according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Tragically, these numbers continue to rise steadily.
