Assistance by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security to the project “UN Joint Programme on Integrated Highland Livelihood Development in Mae Hong Son” in Thailand

October 13, 2009
Japanese

On 13 October, the Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) decided to extend assistance totalling 4,633,477.20 US dollars (approximately 477.2 million yen) through the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security to a project entitled “UN Joint Programme on Integrated Highland Livelihood Development in Mae Hong Son” in Thailand, which is going to be implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Mae Hong Son is a remote and mountainous province located in northern Thailand and shares a border with the Union of Myanmar. The poverty rate in Mae Hong Son is 34%, making it the poorest in the country. Over half of the province’s population is ethnic minorities who have limited access to public services. The province is also host to a large number of refugees mainly from Myanmar, putting further stress on its social development capacity and natural resources. This project aims to improve the quality of life and reduce poverty among the vulnerable groups in the underserved areas of Mae Hong Son through protection and empowerment measures. Following activities will be implemented;

Empowering targeted groups for sustainable integrated highland agriculture and encouraging them to engage in income generating activities;
Assisting in the implementation of local environment and natural resource management plans through the provision of technical assistance, training and inputs supply;
Improving the enrollment, attendance and completion rates through providing both formal and non-formal education for all, especially among girls and women living in remote areas, and revising school curriculum and learning materials, for example adoption of bilingual education, and carrying out capacity building of teachers;
Providing basic medical equipments and supplies and enhancing outreach activities through mobile clinics including home visits, primary care services delivery at the community health posts in remote areas, and strengthening exiting referral systems to provide health services to the underserved population;
Improving children’s nutritional status through expanded school gardening, lunch programmes and growth monitoring within the context of school health programme.

This project is expected to promote the integrated development of Highland Livelihood in Mae Hong Son by improving the quality of life and reducing the poverty rate.

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