title: Militarization, human rights violations and community responses as determinants of health in southeastern Myanmar: results of a cluster survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Myanmar army and ethnic armed groups agreed to a preliminary ceasefire in 2012, but a heavy military presence remains in southeastern Myanmar. Qualitative data suggested this militarization can result in human rights abuses in the absence of armed engagements between the parties, and that rural ethnic civilians use a variety of self-protection strategies to avoid these abuses or reduce their negative impacts. We used data from a household survey to determine prevalence of select self-protection activities and to examine exposure to armed groups, human rights violations and self-protection activities as determinants of health in southeastern Myanmar.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data collected from 463 households via a two-stage cluster survey of conflict-affected areas in eastern Myanmar in January 2012, were analyzed using logistic regression models to identify associations between exposure to state and non-state armed groups, village self-protection, human rights abuses and health outcomes. Close proximity to a military base was associated with human rights abuses (PRR 1.30, 95 % CI: 1.14-1.48), inadequate food production (PRR 1.08, 95 % CI: 1.03-1.13), inability to access health care (PRR 1.29, 95 % CI: 1.04-1.60) and diarrhea (PRR 1.15, 95 % CI: 1.05-1.27. Direct exposure to armed groups was associated with household hunger (PRR1.71, 95 % CI: 1.30-2.23). Among households that reported no human rights abuses, risk of household hunger (PRR 5.64, 95 % CI: 1.88-16.91), inadequate food production (PRR 1.95, 95 % CI: 1.11-3.41) and diarrhea (PRR 2.53, 95 % CI: 1.45-4.42) increased when neighbors' households reported experiencing human rights abuses. Households in villages that reported negotiating with the Myanmar army had lower risk of human rights violations (PRR 0.91, 95 % CI: 0.85-0.98), household hunger (PRR 0.85, 95 % CI: 0.74-0.96), inadequate food production (PRR 0.93, 95 % CI:0.89-0.98) and diarrhea (PRR 0.89, 95 % CI:0.82-0.97). Stratified analysis suggests that self-protection strategies may modify the effect of exposure to armed groups on risk of human rights violations and some health outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Militarization may negatively affect health in southeastern Myanmar, and village self-protection activities may reduce these impacts. As southeastern Myanmar opens to international health and development interventions, implementing agencies should consider militarization as a determinant of health and design interventions that can mediate its effects. Such interventions should take into account existing self-protection strategies, seek to provide support where possible and, at all times, take care not to unintentionally undermine them.
authors.affiliation: Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD USA.
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD USA.
authors.forename: Luke C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Mullany
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA.
authors.forename: Matt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schissler
authors.affiliation: Karen Human Rights Group, Mae Sot, Thailand.
authors.forename: Saw
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.affiliation: Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD USA.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beyrer
keywords: Agency; Burma; Human Rights; Militarization; Myanmar; Protection; Public Health; Resilience; Self-Protection