Abstract
BackgroundMyanmar transitioned to a nominally civilian government in March 2011. It is unclear how, if at all, this political change has impacted migration at the household level.MethodsWe present household-level in- and out-migration data gathered during the Eastern Burma Retrospective Mortality Survey (EBRMS) conducted in 2013. Household level in-and out-migration information within the previous year was gathered via a cross-sectional, retrospective, multi-stage population-based cluster randomized survey conducted in eastern Myanmar. Univariate, bivariate and regression analyses were conducted.ResultsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of 6620 households across Eastern Myanmar between July and September of 2013. Out-migration outstripped in-migration more than 6:1 overall during the year prior to the survey – for international migration this ratio was 29:1. Most in-migrants had moved to their present location in the study area from other areas in Myanmar (87%). Only 11.3% (27 individuals) had returned from another country (Thailand). Those who migrated out of eastern Myanmar during the previous year were more likely to be male (55.2%), and three times more likely to be between the ages of 15–25 (49.5%) than non-migrants. The primary reason cited for a return to the household was family (26.3%) followed by work (23.2%). The primary reason cited for migrating out of the household was for education (46.4%) followed by work (40.2%). Respondents from households that reported out-migration in the past year were more likely to screen positive for depressive symptoms than households with no migration (PR 1.85; 95% CI 1.16, 2.97). Women in households with in-migration were more likely to be malnourished and had a higher unmet need for contraception. Forced labor, one subset of human rights violations experienced by this population, was reported by more in-migrant (8%) than out-migrant households (2.2%), though this finding did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionsThese analyses suggest that opportunities for employment and education are the primary drivers of migration out of the household, despite an overall improvement in stability and decrease in prevalence of human rights violations found by EBRMS 2013. Additionally, migration into and out of households in eastern Myanmar is associated with changes in health outcomes.
Highlights
Myanmar transitioned to a nominally civilian government in March 2011
Parmar et al Conflict and Health (2019) 13:15 (Continued from previous page). These analyses suggest that opportunities for employment and education are the primary drivers of migration out of the household, despite an overall improvement in stability and decrease in prevalence of human rights violations found by Eastern Burma Retrospective Mortality Survey (EBRMS) 2013
Migration into and out of households in eastern Myanmar is associated with changes in health outcomes
Summary
Myanmar transitioned to a nominally civilian government in March 2011. It is unclear how, if at all, this political change has impacted migration at the household level. The World Bank estimates that remittances from Thailand to Myanmar accounted for 150 million USD in 2008, which is largely thought to be an underestimate given the predominate use of informal money transfer mechanisms [16] These remittances serve as an important resource for households in Myanmar, aiding with daily living expenses, health, housing, and education [16]. It is unclear how, if at all, these “push” and “pull” factors have changed, and how these factors affect migration at the household level after the political transition. A large proportion of migrants move within the country, either inside their state/administrative region or across state/administrative region lines—most often to find employment opportunities [17], many have historically migrated to avoid conflict or human rights violations, as internally displaced persons
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