Myanmar

Needs

A total of 12.9 million people will need humanitarian health interventions in 2025. Urgent humanitarian health needs in Myanmar are driven by the lack of access to basic health care as a result of damage and destruction of health facilities; direct attacks on health centres, health workers, patients and ambulances; logistical challenges in securing life-saving medical supplies; and the lack of trained health workers. Women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and those with mental health needs are disproportionately affected, facing heightened risks and barriers to accessing care. Additionally, large-scale displacement, unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and the interruption of routine health programmes are significantly increasing the risk of disease outbreaks. The most severe health needs have been identified in Rakhine, followed by Sagaing, Kachin, Kayah, Tanintharyi, eastern Bago and northern Shan. An outbreak of AWD/cholera that started in July 2024 has been lingering in the country’s largest city, Yangon, expanding to Mandalay, Mon, and Rakhine. Due to the ongoing shortage of malaria supplies, malaria cases are resurging in several regions and states of Myanmar. Dengue remains a major public health concern, affecting an increasing number of people, mostly children under 15 years of age. The risk of measles outbreaks is high, especially in IDP camps. Vaccination coverage for childhood illnesses is persistently low. An estimated 1.5 million children under-five have missed basic vaccinations since 2018, posing a serious threat to the risk of measles and diphtheria outbreaks and possible re-emergence of polio. Widespread displacement caused by armed conflict, climatic disasters, and ethnic tensions has put IDPs and migrant populations at increased risk of public health threats due to overcrowding, poor overall living standards, and limited health care infrastructure.

Response

Based on severe underfunding, 2.4 million people will be targeted for humanitarian health interventions in 2025. The majority are crisis-affected people with humanitarian needs (57 per cent), followed by IDPs (34 per cent), non-displaced stateless people in Rakhine (5 per cent), and returned, resettled and locally integrated IDPs (4 per cent). The Health Cluster will deliver the same life-saving health interventions as in 2024: basic health care (including sexual and reproductive health, family planning, and emergency obstetric care) through mobile clinics, static health facilities and teleconsultations; prevention of disease outbreaks through routine and catch-up vaccination campaigns targeting 1.5 million children, including 150,000 living in hard-to-reach areas; referrals for specialized care; mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS); and the prepositioning of essential medical supplies, including for malaria. Other areas include training of health workers, provision and adaptation of technical guidance on specific health programmes and data collection for surveillance of infectious diseases. The Cluster will tailor its response interventions to the specific health needs of each state. Efforts are ongoing to develop a Myanmar Health Cluster Localization Strategy. Where feasible, the Health Cluster will engage in intersectoral programming, in particular with the Nutrition and WASH clusters. The Health Cluster works closely together with the Protection Cluster, and the Child Protection, GBV and Mine Action AoRs to mobilize the relevant resources to cover the specific health needs arising from protection issues, such as physical rehabilitation and GBV interventions. In addition, the Cluster will focus on the strengthening of health management information including disease surveillance and vaccination data.

Monitoring

In 2024, the Cluster observed significant underreporting by health partners, resulting in a disproportionally low number of people being reported as reached with assistance. In 2025, the Cluster will strengthen its reporting mechanism through training health partners and establishing an open feedback system with health partners aimed at improving and facilitating reporting. Similarly, the Cluster hopes to expand the number of partners reporting to the Early Warning and Alert Response System, which monitors potential disease outbreaks. The Cluster works through a network of sub-national health cluster coordinators and information management officers, who play a crucial role in data collection, mapping and monitoring.