Health as a bridge to peace in Myanmar's Kayin State: 'working encounters' for community development

Abstract

This article explores ‘health as a bridge to peace’ in Myanmar’s Kayin State. It focuses on an Auxiliary Midwife training programme, which has created partnerships between actors historically divided by decades-long conflict. Drawing on ethnographic research, the article highlights the agency of community-level service providers, who are often overlooked in conventional approaches to peacebuilding. It demonstrates that community health workers are challenging top-down liberal approaches to peacebuilding and advancing an alternative approach to development and peace in their areas–one that emphasises systemic change and recognition of non-state governance systems. The shared lexicon and stand..