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The National Carillon in Canberra will light up red tonight on World Tuberculosis Day, 24 March, to stand in solidarity with the 1.5 million people who die of Tuberculosis (TB) each year. It will be one of the numerous iconic locations across Australia showing their support to end the TB pandemic. TB remains one of the world’s deadliest airborne infectious diseases, killing over 4,000 people every day. Despite being preventable and curable, TB claims 1.5 million lives every year globally and the number is expected to rise due to the inadequate diagnosis and treatment due to a lack of resources in the COVID-19 era. Even in Australia, one million people carry the bacteria and are living with Latent Tuberculosis. Australia’s neighbours, such as Papua New Guinea, are facing immense challenges in tackling TB. The campaign group calls out to politicians and the public to act promptly and provide the support needed to save a million lives every year globally and in the neighbouring Pacific. Local spokesperson, Results advocate David Bailey said, “As the world continues to deal with the COVID pandemic, we are shining a light on the fact TB will kill more than one million people this year and every year unless we ramp up action to wipe it out. “Some of our nearest neighbours have the highest TB rates in the world, including Papua New Guinea which is now struggling with runaway COVID infections and a straining hospital system at the same time. “The COVID-19 crisis means it’s more important than ever that we assist our neighbouring countries in dealing with the impacts of TB, and don’t fall behind in eradicating this disease not just in Australia but across our region,” he said. Results International CEO Negaya Chorley said, “A huge thank you to Canberra for showing their support for World TB Day and the millions affected by this terrible disease. “Over the last two years, we’ve seen an incredible global effort to tackle COVID-19 and in record time we have developed a number of effective vaccines, diagnostics and improved treatments and outcomes. “Now it’s time we came together in a similar effort to eradicate TB globally. The global TB response is underfunded by at least US$9 billion. More than half the money pledged by world leaders to fight the epidemic at the UN in 2018 has not been delivered. Results Australia says ahead of the Federal Election both major parties should lift their 2019 pledge of $242 million at the Sixth Replenishment of the Global Fund to $450 million at the upcoming Seventh Replenishment. The Global Fund provided 77% of all international financing for tuberculosis in 2020. Importantly the Global Fund targets resources to where the need is greatest, meaning Australia’s own contribution would likely be spent in its own neighbourhood. Ms Chorley said, “To fight TB on our doorstep, Australia should lift its commitment to the Global Fund by pledging $450 million.” See the full piece here

When the pandemic unfolded, vital resources were diverted away from TB, with infections going undetected, untreated and unmanaged. Few non-Indigenous Australians have had the misfortune of encountering tuberculosis (TB), an airborne bacteria which spreads through the lungs and leads to a bloody cough. For First Nations Australians, however, the rates of TB infection is six times higher than the rest of the population – with the Northern Territory’s Top End, Queensland’s Cape York and Torres Strait particularly impacted. This preventable and curable disease, if left untreated, causes an agonising death as it eats the lungs from the inside out. Prior to Covid-19, TB was the world’s leading infectious disease killer. In 2020, 1.5 million people died due to this invisible global epidemic – marking the first time in a decade there was a rise in deaths. While most parts of Australia reached its elimination strategy a decade ago, modelling suggests elimination in the Top End isn’t likely until 2066. A disease of poverty and economic distress, vulnerability, stigma and discrimination, according to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis targets not just Australia’s but the world’s most vulnerable populations. Read the full article here

The Australian Government needs to commit $450 million to fighting tuberculosis, say Results International (Australia) and Pacific Friends of Global Health, as the global death toll rises for the first time in a decade while COVID-battered regional health systems struggle to respond to the growing threat. “Before COVID-19, TB was the deadliest infectious disease in the world, and will likely reclaim that title again,” said Negaya Chorley, chief executive of aid group Results International (Australia). “In 2020, TB killed 1.5 million people up from 1.4 million in 2019, the first time we’ve seen deaths rise in a decade.” TB is caused by a bacteria that spreads through the lungs, causing a bloody cough, and if untreated, a painful death. After almost two decades of progress, the global response to TB has reversed as COVID-19 puts hospitals, health clinics and medical workers under extreme strain. A complicating factor for TB is that treatment requires close management. Misused medication, wrong dosages, and unfinished courses can all lead to the bacteria becoming resistant. “TB is preventable and curable but without proper treatment, TB will become multi-drug resistant,” said Ms Chorley. “Leaving TB undetected, untreated, and unmanaged in our region risks a health challenge becoming an unstoppable epidemic.” Read the full release here

“Peter: would you like to come to a meeting that has the potential to save the lives of 40,000 children every day?” In 1986, this innocuous-sounding call from a work colleague was coincidental with helping save the life of a child in Canberra, one week earlier. With other similar donors, a donation of my rare blood type helped transfuse that baby newly-born of parents with RH-negative and RH-positive blood. Together we saved a child’s life with the right aid. The right aid has also reduced the daily preventable deaths of the world’s children from those 40,000 to currently 14,000. I’ve learnt this has been achieved through the efforts of United Nations’ agencies like UNICEF, non-government organisations, plus national governments through their Overseas development assistance budgets. Influencing those budgets is difficult, as an individual seeking to increase them or direct them to projects for the world’s poor. It’s been a personal journey of discovery learning how to have influence on those budgets and to answer the question: what difference does one person make? First I discovered the contrasting debates: between overseas direct investment in infrastructure like roads, dams and bridges that might deliver benefits in the developing world eventually, versus the immediate needs of people then living on one dollar a day. Less than the price of a cup of coffee in Australia. When I first walked the corridors of the World Bank in 1987, I thought it was a good place to forget about the poorest of the world’s poor: deep carpets; quiet offices far removed from the impacts of its US$14 billion budget. However, change did come. My perceptions were changed by the 1990 World Summit for Children (WSC) at UN Headquarters, as 71 heads of state and government united to put children first for resources. Earlier, at 2,600 Candlelight Vigils for Children the citizens of our world had gathered to show their support, including the Vigil I attended in Canberra where I wrote the speech for the Pakistan High Commissioner. Subsequently, WSC was described as The Mother of All Summits, in leading to the increased signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, (CROC). Part of CROC inspired me to try changing the UN’s peacekeeping policy in the 1990s. Under Article 38(4) of CROC States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict. With the end of the Cold War, there was discussion of the Peace Dividend: seeking alternative uses from cuts in military expenditure because no-one had enemies anymore. My 1993 proposal of Blue Berets Caring for Children sought to add this protective article and its imperative “shall take..” to the mandate of UN Peacekeeping Missions. An informal example existed. In 1991 after the first Gulf War, a similar operation (Habitat) had been undertaken in northern Iraq by Australian troops supporting refugee Kurds and their children. Following extensive personal discussions, I found support from a former RSL President, Lt-General John Sanderson (former Commander of the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia), the Australian Minister for Defence, the-then Director of ADF Peacekeeping. My proposal did not receive the key support of the Foreign Minister. However, later in 1994, it was supported by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Force of Ireland: a country whose military forces are only committed overseas on UN peacekeeping missions. Later events in Srebrenica, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria are just some circumstances where the world’s children continue to die in poverty without this protection. Later a small light came on about effective poverty reduction, when I subsequently learned of the benefits from microcredit financing. Small loans like $100 grow thriving businesses such as raising goats, providing families with their food, housing and children’s education. The 2005 International Year of Microcredit highlighted these benefits, most famously identified by Professor Mohammad Yunus. Formerly of Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank, he was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of inspiration as banker to the poor. Yunus also advised the World Bank on the principles of lending $50, at a time when its smallest loan was $50 million. With my long-standing professional interests in impacts and outcomes, it’s very pleasing that the World Bank now has a segment on its “results”. It hadn’t in the 1980s. From these lessons learnt, I have since directly funded the results of one program that trained Afghan women to be paralegals (becoming defense counsel in domestic violence cases) and another in Ethiopia operating on rural women with fistulas. In Afghanistan, I hope those women retain their skills and in Ethiopia I know they return as fully-participating members to their villages, through local skills and Overseas development assistance. Believing in the benefits of Overseas development assistance means active involvement with key people and agencies of influence, domestic and international. The continuing needs of more than 700 million people existing on a daily US$1.90 mean we can each make a difference to reducing their hunger and poverty. For a child’s life and a better world. Peter is a Campus Visitor at the Development Policy Centre, lecturing at the University of Papua New Guinea. He was a federal public servant for four decades. Peter has promoted the benefits of overseas development assistance since he helped start Results Australia in 1986, which generates the public and political will to end poverty around our world.

I am Anika and I attended the ACFID conference and especially loved the story of how survivor-led civil society organisations are transforming their communities – the case of bonded labour in Chennai, India Eradicting modern slavery is a vital part in attaining the sustainable goals. One form of modern slavery is bonded labour also known as debt bondage and occurs when a family tricked and/or trapped into providing hard labour. One reason this may occur is when a family is in dire need of funds to pay off debts such as medical bills and resorts to borrowing funds from a wealthy business owner. To repay this debt, which may be as little as AUD$100, the family is threatened or deceived and promised liveable conditions and a viable wage. Instead they are trafficked into indefinite hard labour in unworkable conditions with little to no wage. Additionally, they can be deprived from adequate food and sleep, barred from attending school or medical care, forced into unliveable housing and face sexual harassment and violence. Today, there are millions of people including children as young as the age of 4, women and men trapped in illegal slavery worldwide. This may inhibit and prevent them from accessing the education needed to attain the sustainable goals. Fighting to eradicate bonded labour, the IJM (International Justice Mission) partners with local authorities and community organisations to assist the local government identify and remove victims from bonded labour and hold the perpetrators accountable. Concurrently, this strengthens the justice system. After rescue, the government provides a 2 year aftercare program which includes welfare measures such as food grains, allowance, housing, psychosocial support and rehab needs such as skill development to ensure sustainable living. Additionally, survivors have the opportunity to join the IJM goal and eradicate bonded labour which spreads helps victims find courage in reporting their bonded labours to survivors. This expands into a catalytic change towards ending modern slavery and attaining the sustainable goals. One example of such work is the case of Vasanthi’s family in Chennai, India. As droughts across India devastated many rural communities, individuals such as Vasanthi were left with scarce food supplies and no job opportunities. When Vasanthi’s son became ill and was admitted to hospital, an additional surge of medical bills piled up with no job or wage to cover the costs. In desperation, Vasanthi and her husband accepted a small loan to help pay their bills and decided to work at a local brick factory. However, the working conditions of this factor were unbearable as they faced 18-hour days, threats, and sleep deprivation. After 3 years of back-breaking work and being separated from her children, the IJM and local authorities rescued Vasanthi and her husband in 2012. Today, Vasanthi has graduated from the 2 year aftercare program and is now working towards educating her children. And what about us? What can we do to eradicate bonded labour? We as consumers can be aware of the products that are made through modern slavery and use this information to spread awareness and restrict purchase and support of these brands. Through these actions we can all assist in ensuring the sustainable goals are achieved.

I am Tom and I attended the ACFID conference and especially loved the discussions around systemic poverty alleviation through financial empowerment of minority groups. Despite auspicious international aid programs, poverty amongst minority groups in the Indo-Pacific remains a perennial contemporary policy dilemma. Although financial aid acts as a vehicle towards alleviation of poverty, it fails to address the intrinsic on-the-ground structural problems that disempower minority groups towards financial independence in local communities. Altering and challenging preconceived notions of minority groups roles in society strikes at the heart of entrenched cultural and social norms that have traditionally cornered minority groups to the periphery of engaging with broader societal operations, most pronounced in norms associated with gender and disability. As participation is the first step towards financial empowerment, civil society organisations play an indispensable role in engendering a revisionist approach of minorities groups’ financial independence via the means of direct and indirect consultations of community members. Firstly, predetermined gender-based perceptions have largely resigned women to have no feasible reality of reaching financial independence in particular communities across the Indo-Pacific. However, civil society partnerships such as the World Vision-Promundo Partnership (‘the Partnership’) is a program that seeks to shift traditional cultural, customary perceptions and behaviours relating to women’s roles in society by engaging men as allies in women’s economic empowerment by means of education. The Partnership hosts a series of sessions with hundreds of couples that have resulted in better support from men in women seeking paid work, a better acceptance rate in women engaging in work, better couple communication, an increase in men sharing household responsibilities such as assisting children and engaging in unpaid housework, a reduction in conflict and violence, and an increased interest by government partners in addressing gender norms in economic development programming. Secondly, those living with a disability are another minority group within the Indo-Pacific that rarely find stable employment due to discrimination born from pre-existing cultural and social beliefs. For example, in Sri Lanka, those with disabilities have been noted to generally struggle financially, have limited skills and agency, remain isolated, and are further trammelled by intersectional gender and social norms. However, launched from July 2016 to September 2021, World Vision’s Sri Lanka Gender and Disability Inclusive Economic Development Project (‘iLIVE’) focuses on assisting the most vulnerable individuals in Sri Lankan society, including people with disability, who are often the last considered for formal employment. The iLIVE project seeks to empower these individuals to self-generate stable income and become valued, productive, and inclusive members of their respective communities. For example, Jesumalar*, a disabled man in Sri Lanka, was a beneficiary of the iLIVE project. iLive asked Jesumalar to attend a session on mushroom cultivation that has now lead to Jesumalar becoming a mushroom farmer. Jesumalar now trains other members of his community how to cultivate mushrooms to which has even extended to Jesumalar assisting the Dilmah Foundation. As a result of the iLIVE project, 8,101 vulnerable Sri Lankans have directly benefited from an increase in income and agency, which has provided a robust business case for hiring those with disabilities and that intentional design can increase access for vulnerable individuals. Whether it be directly engaging with vulnerable individuals or engaging other groups in society to challenge preconceived perceptions of marginalised groups’ roles within society, both approaches have the capacity to engender the journey of financial empowerment of minority groups, reflecting an essential step towards eradicating systemic poverty.

My name is Jawoon and I attended the ACFID conference and I was especially drawn to the discussions about the importance of decolonisation for international development. In May 2020, the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis instigated the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter became synonymous with anti-racist efforts globally, especially against oppressive structures that communities of colour experience in predominantly white societies. The same conversation also brought decolonization to the forefront in the international development sector. Again. But this time, it was different. There were explicit connections made between anti-racism and decolonisation and highlighted racial justice in realising decolonisation. Meaning, decolonisation no longer became a theoretical concept which many of the INGOs included in their annual reports. Instead, it forced these organisations to look inwards and reflect on their organisational and individual commitment to anti-racism. This shift in the sector’s understanding of decolonisation was very much reflected throughout the 2021 ACFID conference. In particular, two standout sessions on “transforming INGO governance” and “turning the tables for locally-led development and decolonisation” encapsulated some of the INGOs journey towards anti-racism. As Salamah Eva-Lina Lawrence from WaterAid (who is also a board member of IWDA) passionately vocalised, “replacing white bodies with brown bodies is not decolonisation”. Then, what does anti-racist decolonisation look like and what are practical steps that INGOs can take towards this vision? The answer seemed universal: analyse and shift the power and make it a whole-of-organisation commitment. For example, WaterAid Australia conducted an internal survey about their staff’s knowledge on decolonisation, and went on to educate both board and staff on what power means and how it affects their efforts to decolonise in their programming work as well as their organisational structure. IWDA committed not to compete for funding with other organisations from Global South as their 3S framework for South-North partnership. Finally, ActionAid invested in the capacity building of PNG staff, so they can confidently negotiate their own funding requests and speak for the communities. In an industry that has no structural incentives to decolonise (as pointed out by Stephen Howes referring to ANCP), the efforts to decolonise and make this anti-racist work intentional solely rely on the willingness of the INGOs themselves. And it has proven to be insufficient to shift the tide. Taking the lessons from other INGOs who have been on this journey, it is time that all of us in this work face the racist origins of international development head on and make conscious efforts to envision a different future forward – the one where our work is intrinsically tied to challenging the current racist and oppressive structures. We cannot afford to rely on one more tragedy to start an anti-racist journey.

2021 marked 35 years since a group of advocates gathered in Canberra under the umbrella of Results International Australia with a shared vision of a world without poverty. Advocates who believed that no matter where people are born, everyone should have equal opportunities to fulfil their potential in life. Since this time a number of advocacy groups have been established throughout Australia all with the same vision that was central to the founding of the organisation all those years ago. Group meeting, in Adelaide, 1989. Group meeting, in Adelaide, 1989 Results has spent 35 years advocating on global poverty issues with a particular focus on nutrition, education and global health. Over the years, Results has become well known among policy makers, civil society and academia. We are known for our strong campaigning, research and policy influencing skills. In our early years, Results worked with civil society organisations and partners across the world to achieve the following: Increasing Australia’s assistance for womens and children’s health; Maintaining and increasing Australian Government support for the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a United Nations agency specialising in reducing rural poverty Having the Australian aid program recognise as a priority and devote increased funding to microfinance (financial services which meet the needs of the poorest people). Obtaining commitment and follow-up action to the goals set at the World Summit for Children in 1990, which were a predecessor to the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. Promoting relief on loans by the multilateral development banks such as the World Bank as part of debt relief for the poorest countries. From 1997, Results very own Policy & Advocacy Manager, Mark Rice, He sits with Nobel Laureate & founder of The Grameen Bank, Dr Muhammad Yunus, at an engagement (National Press Club) in Canberra Results played a lead role on these issues and was often the only organisation with grassroots advocates who were writing to their Members of Parliament and the media on these issues. The International Fund for Agricultural Development acknowledged that Results was the one organisation which ensured continued funding from Australia in the late 1980s. Our role in leading advocacy campaigns and introducing new issues to Parliamentarians remains important. For example, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria congratulated Results on its leadership in advocacy for Australia’s contribution to the Global Fund at its 2016 replenishment. In the future, Results will continue to work in partnership with other civil society organisations and subject matter experts to help build a world without poverty, but we also have the capacity to develop and promote issues and actions in our own right, thanks to our relationships with elected representatives and officials, and the enthusiasm and dedication of our advocates who continue to sit at the heart of our organisation.

I’m Killki and I attended the ACFID conference this year and I really liked to understand more how local actors play a critical role in planning, advising, implementing and evaluating aid initiatives within ‘global minority’ countries. In countries experiencing crises, such as Myanmar and Afghanistan, the rapid escalation of human suffering as well as worsening security situations have pushed out INGOs and their ability to deliver aid personally, on the ground. This has elevated the role of local actors. Local actors work in cooperation with INGOs, they negotiate with opposing militaries in order to move around the country in relative safety; risking it all to pass through ‘no-man’s land’ in their attempts to deliver aid. Above all, local actors are the frontline responders in protracted crises where humanitarian capacity is restrained. The success of these local actors demonstrates their immense value not only in crises but in the delivery of all aid initiatives as local knowledge, communication, and context directly impacts the success and effectiveness of aid projects. Najeeba Wazefadost (speaker at the session) is an Australian-Afghan refugee whose passion lies in advocating for Afghans and women in particular. Najeeba discussed the growing number of internally displaced people who have little support. As the Afghan situation deteriorates, more targeted work ‘on the ground’ needs to occur in order to provide meaningful aid. Najeeba also pressed for greater value to be given to locals, importantly, raising the issue of mental health access for volunteers, to better improve their ability to help others on the ground. The main takeaway from this session was that it is in the interests of international organisations to work more collaboratively with local actors to improve this relationship which will, in turn, improve the outcomes of aid initiatives.

I am Bruna and I attended the ACFID conference and especially loved the story of how the National Federation of the Disabled Nepal (NFDN) worked during the COVID-19 pandemic to establish disability inclusive structures to enhance capacity and promote meaningful participation for people with disabilities. I am passionate about accessibility and inclusion and the way they handled the situation shows how much can be done to include people with disability in the COVID-19 response and also how imperative it is that we include them in this discussion. It is well known that countries such as Indonesia, Nepal and Fiji are experiencing the devastating and far-reaching impacts of the pandemic and as seen in other recent emergencies and disasters, people with disabilities are most at risk. COVID-19 is deepening pre-existing inequalities and people with disabilities are often at the back of the line in COVID responses. Given the circumstances, Manish Prasai, from Nepal, briefly explored how the NFDN fought to promote access and inclusion of people with disability in the COVID-19 response. During the first wave of the pandemic, in 2020, the NFDN assumed that the people with disability could be most affected in the pandemic, based on their knowledge and information, so they issued and disseminated general guidelines for all stakeholders and people with disability. It was indeed a very complicated time for people with disability because there was so much fake news and misinformation about COVID infection and its effect on the human body that people with disability faced a number of barriers to have access to authentic information. To mitigate the situation the NFDN conducted a rapid assessment on the impact of lockdown and travel restrictions in the life of people with disability and found that many people with disabilities had lost their daily income, were deprived of health services and health facilities they had access to before; COVID-related information was not accessible to them; they were under mental stress and in some places they were facing abuse and violence at home. Based on this first piece of information they mobilised their structures and local organisation of people with disability for advocacy and in collaboration with CDM global they conducted a COVID response program in four municipalities. The main goals of this response program was (1) the creation and ample distribution of COVID-related information among people with disability, (2) the provision of psychosocial counselling in collaboration with partners; and a at a national level, the dissemination of information by the Minister of Health, in more than two languages and accessible format through YouTube channels, social media, TV channels, etc. During the second wave of the pandemic, in April 2021, the situation was different and easier to handle because people with disabilities knew more about the pandemic and governments and NGOs worked hard to promote authentic information about COVID-19. During this wave, they also asked the Minister to prioritise people with disability with vaccination and people benefited from this policy. This experience shows how important it is to include people with disability in the COVID-19 response as it positively impacted not only people with disabilities but also their carers, their communities and society more broadly. So, the main takeaway message for me is that many problems can be solved by joint-venture, even in a very difficult situation such as the one we are facing now. And most importantly, as Manish Prasai highlighted, “this exercise proved that in the situation of humanitarian emergency people with disability were not only the beneficiaries but they were also the contributors”. NFDN (or National Federation of the Disabled Nepal) is an organisation that advocates for the rights, interests and entitlements for people with disability across Nepal. NFDN has more than 300 member organisations in 74 districts and works in coordination and partnership with national and international governments and NGO bodies to establish disability inclusive structures to enhance capacity and promote meaningful participation for people with disabilities.

Shocking new figures highlight need for Australia to impose sanctions on Myanmar’s coup leaders There have been 279 violent attacks on health centres in Myanmar since the February coup, representing almost 40% of health centre attacks worldwide and more than seven times the number of attacks recorded for Afghanistan. The new figures reveal the extent of the crisis unfolding in Myanmar and the near total collapse of the health system, according to Results International Australia CEO, Negaya Chorley. “The military in Myanmar is targeting health workers, arresting, torturing and even killing them as punishment for their involvement in the peaceful civil disobedience movement. At a time when COVID-19 is rampant this represents a humanitarian disaster,” Ms Chorley, says. “The Australian government must finally join other countries in imposing sanctions on military leaders and ‘unfreeze’ the $95 million in aid which is being withheld from the country and causing significant hardship.”“There are humanitarian organisations on the ground doing critical work in Myanmar – they need funding. Simply freezing this money means critical, life-saving help is no longer available,” Ms Chorley said. The analysis based on World Health Organisation figures shows that since the February coup there have been 279 attacks on health centres in Myanmar, representing 39% of all attacks recorded globally (717). In Afghanistan during that time there were 38 attacks on health centres. The figures show 24 health workers have been killed since the coup and a further 60 people have been injured. Myanmar is by far the most dangerous place for health workers in the world. Australia lags badly behind the international community in refusing to impose sanctions on Myanmar’s coup leaders, Ms Chorley said. ASEAN’s decision to snub Myanmar, shows the weakness of the argument that Australia won’t follow the US and Europe in imposing sanctions on the junta and its businesses because it would be ‘out of step’ with other regional countries. Results has highlighted concerns about Myanmar’s collapsed health system as the country enters its malaria season. There are fears of a resurgence in diseases such as malaria, TB and HIV as prevention and treatment programs have been disrupted by the coup and the battle to contain COVID-19. “It is a tragedy that will have profound implications for the region in terms of the spread of COVID-19,” Ms Chorley said. Ms Chorley said given Australia’s strong historical ties with the country and our fundamental belief in human rights, we should be leading the way in exerting diplomatic pressure and releasing much needed aid funding. END Negaya Chorley is available for interview

By Negaya Chorley, Chief Executive Officer, Results International Australia The US and China have reportedly just brokered a deal that would block Myanmar’s military leaders from addressing next week’s United Nation’s General Assembly. It represents a chink of light in an otherwise dark cloud that has hung over Myanmar since the military coup in February this year. Until now international efforts to hold the military accountable have been too weak to stop the killing, the torture and imprisonment of dissidents. Meanwhile, a third wave of COVID-19 is decimating the country. Britain has warned that half of Myanmar’s 54 million people could be infected this month. Although there is limited official testing being done, anecdotal reports suggest the pandemic is gripping the country and has brought an already struggling health system to its knees. Myanmar is not alone in its life-and-death fight against COVID-19. Yet while most countries are hailing their frontline health workers as heroes, in Myanmar many health workers are being hunted down, locked-up, tortured and even killed. Since the February coup that ousted Myanmar’s democratically elected government there has been a wave of protests and a popular Civil Disobedience Movement CDM. Medical workers were among the first group to go on strike as part of the movement. The military has been ruthless in hunting them down. According to human rights groups (Assistance Association for Political Prisoners) at least 72 health workers – including the head of the vaccination program, are detained with another 600 arrest warrants for doctors and nurses. There are harrowing accounts of medical staff being beaten, tortured, and even shot. The ruling junta has weaponised COVID-19 in its effort to crush its opponents. Soldiers have seized oxygen supplies and looted community run clinics. And military attacks continue in ethnic states where there is resistance, which has displaced an estimated 230,000 people since the coup. Aid groups have been unable to get permits to bring in lifesaving COVID supplies, and critical programs have been suspended. It is a tragedy that will have profound implications for the region in terms of the spread of COVID-19. The collapse of the health system also represents a tragic setback to the country’s modest progress in fighting other diseases such as TB, HIV, and malaria and in the areas of child and maternal health. Save the Children estimate one million children have not received essential vaccines since the coup. Given Australia is fighting its own battle with COVID-19, you may be forgiven for thinking we need to keep our own resources at home. But Myanmar’s deepening crisis is not about a lack of vaccines, oxygen or PPE, it is a failure of international diplomacy to put pressure on an illegitimate military that is not only killing its own people, it is jeopardising the region’s health security. Given Australia’s strong historical ties with the country and our fundamental belief in human rights, we should be leading the way in exerting diplomatic pressure. Firstly, we need to place sanctions on individuals and companies associated with the junta just like those enforced by the US, UK, Canada and the European Union. Australian aid funding should be directed to help displaced people on the Myanmar Thai border. There should also be strenuous efforts made to develop and implement a border-wide COVID-19 vaccination program. Australia also needs to support ASEAN leaders and the five-point plan they agreed with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in Jakarta in April this year. There has been little progress here, Australia should encourage ASEAN leaders to push for compliance on the plan. COVID-19 doesn’t recognise borders – Myanmar’s health crisis will have implications for the whole region. It’s a crisis we ignore at our peril.