S1E77: An insider's view of the magnitude of the Myanmar crisis: Asian Insider Ep 78

Asian Insider Ep 77: An insider's view of the magnitude of the Myanmar crisis 17:34 mins Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh presents an Asian perspective of the week's global talking points with expert guests. Myanmar's military, also known as the Tatmadaw, overthrew Myanmar's elected government in a coup on Feb 1. It was met with widespread mass protests. Since then, the country's economy has crashed. Myanmar's currency - the kyat - has plunged badly driving up food and fuel prices. In this episode, Nirmal Ghosh hosts Andrew Kirkwood, acting interim UN resident coordinator/humanitarian coordinator for Myanmar in Naypyidaw, on the current humanitarian situation inside Myanmar. They discuss the following points: Why nearly half the population is now living below the poverty line, an estimate not seen in over 20 years (3:57) Which regions need critical emergency assistance (5:07) Why more humanitarian funding assistance can still be put to good use and what the international and donor community should know about the situation (8:11) Has there been no real addressing of Myanmar's economic growth and underlying structural issues, even before this year's coup? (10:00) In a largely agrarian economy, this translates to farmers squeezed by a doubling in transportation costs, thousands of female garment workers losing jobs, with construction at a standstill, and restaurants mostly closed (11:46) Mr Kirkwood's instincts about the future direction of Myanmar, after having lived there for the past 20 years (15:09) Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh ([email protected]) and Ernest Luis Edited by: Fa'izah Sani and Hadyu Rahim Subscribe to the Asian Insider Podcast channel and rate us on your favourite audio apps: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/Ju4h Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: [email protected] Follow Nirmal Ghosh on Twitter: https://str.sg/JD7r Read Nirmal Ghosh's stories: https://str.sg/JbxG Asian Insider newsletter: https://www.straitstimes.com/tags/asian-insider Asian Insider videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnK3VE4BKduMSOntUoS6ALNp21jMmgfBX --- Discover more ST podcast series: Asian Insider Podcast: https://str.sg/JWa7 Green Pulse Podcast: https://str.sg/JWaf Health Check Podcast: https://str.sg/JWaN ST Sports Talk Podcast: https://str.sg/JWRE Life Weekend Picks Podcast: https://str.sg/JWa2 #PopVultures Podcast: https://str.sg/JWad Bookmark This! Podcast: https://str.sg/JWas Lunch With Sumiko Podcast: https://str.sg/J6hQ Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsider See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.