The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched an initiative to enhance livelihood recovery and strengthen community resilience in areas of Myanmar devastated by the recent earthquake.
The Enhanced Livelihood Recovery and Community Resilience Project, funded by Japan's Social Safety Net (SSN) and supported by internal ILO resources, will focus on rebuilding structures, restoring livelihoods, and strengthening resilience. This will be done through hiring workers locally, as part of the ILO's Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP), which prioritises job creation, decent work, and capacity-building in collaboration with affected communities.
Launched in Inle Lake on 19 August 2025, the initiative comes in response to the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar on 28 March 2025, causing extensive damage to 58 townships and affecting more than 17 million people, with more than 9 million facing severe hardship.
Schools, health centres, multi-purpose halls, roads, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities are slated to be repaired or rebuilt, using local labour and locally sourced materials.
"This is an ILO global initiative, which has assembled solid and dedicated expertise at the country, regional, and global levels. The ILO will spare no effort to ensure the timely and effective delivery of this project, as a rapid response to the Myanmar Earthquake, and the follow-up to the Resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 2025 under Article 33 of the ILO Constitution on Myanmar. This initiative is to mitigate the impact of conflicts and earthquake disasters on workers and enterprises. The ILO's response is aligned with the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, ensuring that crisis responses contribute to long-term recovery and resilience of the social partners, communities and people of Myanmar," said Kaori Nakamura-Osaka, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
The 8-month project expects to generate more than 25,000 decent workdays with a minimum of 30 per cent allocated to women.
Workers, community contractors, and Village Development Committees (VDCs) will receive skills development training programmes, including construction, maintenance and project management.
VDCs will also benefit from IT equipment to VDCs and computer literacy training.
