Consequences of Sanctions: Are the MDGs relevant in Myanmar?

Myanmar is a developing country with significant humanitarian needs. It is therefore a country for which achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) should be a high priority. However, while exact data is difficult to obtain, Myanmar is performing poorly across most of the MDG targets. This is partly an unintended but direct consequence of the international sanctions against Myanmar. Myanmar receives the lowest level of aid of any of the 50 least developed countries, raising the very direct question of whether the MDGs are relevant or achievable in Myanmar. In 2015 it is likely that governments not achieving the MDGs together with international donors will be heavily criticised for a lack of action, undermining future support and reforms. This paper considers how the political goals of the international community negatively impact upon the ability to achieve the MDGs, and proposes a way forward by tailoring the MDGs to the Myanmar context as several regional neighbours have done.

Authors : ANTHONY WARE and MATTHEW CLARKE

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