Phone Win says: “[Whether we can develop] depends on how much trust international groups put in us – how much responsibility and important works we are given,”. He says it is the donors who 'give' responsibility to civil society. The [him] moderator disagrees.

[him] moderator

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Aid needs to be ‘sustainable’: civil society
Nan Tin Htwe
Myanmar Times
March 21 - 27, 2011

LOCAL organisations have welcomed the British government’s recent announcement that it plans to significantly increase aid to Myanmar over the next four years, but cautioned that a proportion of funding needs to go towards building up their capacity and ensuring sustainability.

Dr Phone Win, a director of Mingalar Myanmar, said the March 1 announcement represented an “enormous opportunity” for local groups to expand the scope of their work. However, he said it was too early to say the extent to which the funding would improve local organisations’ long-term viability.

“We haven’t heard any clear announcement on [what proportion of funding would go to] civil society groups” from Britain’s aid body, the Department for International Development, he said. “While I believe this massive injection of funding will definitely have a positive impact on beneficiaries, I’m not sure about the strengthening of civil society.”

DFID will provide an average of £46 million (US$75 million) each year from 2012-15, up from £32 million ($52 million) in 2011.

According to the department, the funding will be delivered through three channels: the United Nations and international non-government organisations; multi-donor trust funds, such as the Three Diseases Fund (3DF) and Livelihoods and Food Security Trust (LIFT) fund; and directly to local groups.

Dr Phone Win, whose organisation received $100,000 from LIFT in 2010, said civil society was still in its infancy in Myanmar and organisations needed to be given more “responsibility” in order to “grow up”.

“[Whether we can develop] depends on how much trust international groups put in us – how much responsibility and important works we are given,” he said.

Dr Khin Aye Aye, executive director of the Myanmar Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, which received funding from the Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar in 2003 and 3DF 2007, said she hoped the extra aid would benefit the development of local groups. “It is important to build capacity … and assist local people in helping themselves, as they are the ones who can identify their own needs and implement projects most effectively,” she said.

She said the funding should also provide for the preparation of an “exit strategy” to ensure projects were sustainable.

“[This would] encourage the implementing partners to [create] plans to sustain the initiatives when the [financial support for the] projects ends.”

Daw Kathy Shein, country director of Association Franòois-Xavier Bagnoud, an implementing partner of the 3DF that focuses on HIV/AIDS, said she was proud of the recent progress local groups had made in meeting donor standards and praised DFID’s decision to focus increasingly on local organisations.

“More funding for local groups means donors have more trust in our local organisations and also shows that we have improved our capacity,” she said.

“We don’t know exactly how much funding will go to local NGOs but it’s a real opportunity for all of us,” she said. “At the same time, local groups should work harder to enhance their performance. They need to be more transparent.”

For its part, DFID says a major priority of the funding is to work with civil society groups to “help people take control over decisions that affect their lives”.

Mr Paul Whittingham, head of DFID in Myanmar, said working with civil society would be a “very important part” of the department’s program over the next four years and would ensure aid was sustainable, while at the same time laying the foundations for a “more democratic society”.

“In our experience around the world the best thing outside donors or international NGOs can do is to work with local organisations,” he said at a press briefing on March 8.

“We need to strengthen and build the ability of local NGOs to reach more and more people,” Mr Whittingham said. “We believe that any funds or support we give to [Myanmar] organisations that work with communities and villagers can strengthen long term prospects for change ... as local organisations are closest to the community, long-term change will happen through them rather than internationals.”

However, local organisations face many limitations and are often not in a position to handle large amounts of funding. While they have some advantages over international organisations, such as local knowledge, fewer overheads and better access to sensitive regions, local groups also lack experience and capacity, and have trouble formally registering.

“None of the local NGOs are in a position at the moment to handle a large amount of money ... they need bank accounts and professional accountants [for that].”

“We’ve made real efforts to ensure that local organisations can access the funding ... by simplifying our rules and procedures, reducing the burdens to the extent that we can on reporting,” he said. “But at the same time we have to be sure that the organisations that we fund here are able to manage their funds properly and report to us.”

http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/news/567/news56711.html