“At first, I thought about using the money for food, clothing, and shelter. But I realized that restoring my eyesight was more important for my long-term survival. I’ve returned to farm work and started peeling onions and garlic. My income has since increased […]”
— Daw Than* (name changed), 71-year-old woman who suffers from poor vision, Mandalay region.
People not assisted through the HNRP
Due to access constraints, resource limitations, mandate boundaries, or operational capacity, the HNRP will not be able to capture all people in severe need of humanitarian assistance, nor are there mechanisms within the development system well placed to address these gaps that remain largely driven by conflict.
The recent financial crisis in the humanitarian sector has notably impacted Myanmar’s response planning. The 2026 target amounts to only 30 per cent of the total PiN figure of 16.2 million and the funding required to implement the plan amounts to US$890 million, a 36 per cent decrease from the $1.4 billion requested in 2025 (including the earthquake response). This reduction is the result of smaller target populations across most clusters, with cuts ranging from 17 per cent to 42 per cent.
Geographically, the HNRP will continue supporting the most vulnerable people in the most affected areas, such as Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Rakhine and Sagaing where the proportion of targeted people versus people in need is the highest. The operation will not include people living in most of Ayeyarwady, eastern Shan, Nagaland, or Yangon, as these areas fall outside the scope of the HNRP. In terms of population groups, the HNRP will focus more on IDPs, returned/resettled/integrated IDPs, and non-displaced stateless people and significantly less on other shock-affected people.
Populations not covered by the response remain in severe, stressed or minimal humanitarian need, with significant risks of reliance on negative coping strategies, heightened protection risks, and increased psychosocial stress. A large proportion of the Myanmar population is affected by economic shocks, not covered by the scope of the HNRP. Without scaled-up support through the cooperation frameworks of development partners, these people are likely to remain largely without any assistance. These shocks, particularly rising prices and the lack of daily income, will further exacerbate poverty for many families and will be particularly acute due to the lack of development support to address underlying drivers of poverty, or to mitigate the impacts of the wider disruptions to the economy.
Humanitarian-development collaboration
The 2026 HNRP focuses on life-saving and protection action while aligning its response with medium-term recovery and resilience objectives reflected in the TCF and other cooperation frameworks. If appropriately resourced, humanitarian interventions can mitigate erosion of human capital and systems, safeguarding the foundation upon which development investments can build.
HNRP activities are designed to complement longer‑term strategies where possible, while remaining grounded in humanitarian principles. Referrals from short-term interventions to early recovery and social protection programmes aim to provide more sustainable support. However, as Myanmar remains primarily a humanitarian context, these linkages are limited due to comparatively low development financing and consequently fewer people who can be reached through development assistance.
Advocacy measures towards authorities / development actors
Any potential political or institutional changes in 2026 will require close monitoring, as they may create opportunities to advocate key stakeholders for renewed commitment to address the longer-term needs of people in the country. These developments could also enable development actors to assume a more prominent and strategic role in supporting community priorities and complement the HNRP. However, the complex political environment could make sustainable development investments challenging and may create additional challenges for the humanitarian community in adhering to a principled approach.