Centrality of protection
Humanitarian organizations, supported by the Protection Cluster (including on child protection, gender-based violence, mine action, and protection of civilians), remain fully dedicated to mainstreaming protection across the entire humanitarian response in Myanmar. Through the incorporation of protection principles into aid delivery, humanitarian organizations in Myanmar will ensure that their activities target the most vulnerable, enhance their safety and dignity, ensure meaningful access, strengthening participation, empowerment and accountability, and not contribute to or perpetuate discrimination, abuse, violence, neglect, and exploitation.
Accountability to affected people (AAP)
Guided by the Myanmar Collective AAP Strategy 2025-26, the AAP & Community Engagement Working Group (AAP/CEWG) will focus on strengthening inclusive, people-centred programming through interconnected workstreams: (1) direct sub-granting to local organizations; (2) strengthening coordination capacity; (3) networking, coordination, and advocacy, and; (4) inter-agency community-based complaints and feedback mechanism (CFM). The AAP/CEWG will reinforce collective accountability, empower local leadership, and ensure community perspectives are embedded in humanitarian decision-making. The initiative will prioritize localization and equitable participation, enabling local partners in conflict-affected and hard-to-reach areas to design, implement, and sustain their own feedback and engagement systems.
Disability and other diversities
The 2025 MSNA shows that households with persons with disabilities face greater food insecurity, lower incomes, and reduced access to essential services, compounded by stigma, and lack of accessibility. These overlapping barriers place persons with disabilities at heightened risks of mental health conditions and psychosocial distress. Based on those key elements and consultations with organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), the Myanmar Disability & Inclusion Strategy 2026 will: 1) support participation of OPDs to Protection Cluster meetings; 2) targeted capacity-building to OPDs on organizational and soft skills, and; 3) strengthen technical, targeted support to clusters through focal points and regular participation to clusters.
Gender & the empowerment of women and girls
Women and girls are disproportionately impacted and face heightened protection risks. Gender, age, and diversity integration remain central to humanitarian planning and response in Myanmar. Building on previous efforts, clusters have further institutionalized the collection and analysis of sex-, age-, and disability-disaggregated data (SADDD) and the use of gender analysis to inform strategic and operational decision-making. For 2026, the top priority is empowering local leadership and women's participation, strengthening coordination and systemic integration of gender, age, and diversity, and designing inclusive and gender-responsive humanitarian interventions.
Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA)
Myanmar ranks 8th among the 10 IASC priority countries identified as having the highest risk of SEA. This is largely driven by the ongoing humanitarian crisis, which has left vast numbers of vulnerable people in conflict and disaster-affected areas in urgent need of protection and assistance. Therefore, PSEA must be firmly embedded within the core commitments of all humanitarian organizations operating in Myanmar. This includes upholding a zero-tolerance policy on SEA and ensuring robust accountability mechanisms. To continue strengthening the PSEA programme in 2026, it is critical to raise PSEA awareness in communities, implement SEA risk assessments, and strengthen the capacity strengthening of network members.
Environment
The humanitarian response will integrate environmental safeguards across assessment, planning, delivery and monitoring to avoid harm to ecosystems and, where feasible, support restoration. Clusters will systematically consider environmental risks and climate impacts in programme design, including resource use, waste generation, pollution, and land degradation, and will prioritize low-waste, low-carbon and circular approaches to procurement and service delivery. Partners will seek opportunities to use nature-based and climate-smart solutions, promote sustainable management of water, soil and forests, and minimize damage to biodiversity. Environmental considerations will be reflected in targeting, site selection and infrastructure design, and coordinated with relevant development and environmental actors.