Myanmar

Costing methodology

As in past years, unit- or activity-based costing has been used for the 2026 Myanmar HNRP, with clusters determining an average per-person cost for each of its activities to be factored against the number of people targeted for humanitarian assistance. The HNRP cluster activity costs was further increased by up to two per cent to support risk sharing and duty of care for local partners, as well as cluster coordination-related costs.

A key consideration in the costing of the HNRP is the continuing deterioration of the economic situation in Myanmar, particularly the sharp inflation in the prices of basic goods and fuel, and the devaluation of the Myanmar kyat. While inflation is affecting the availability and costs of transport and procuring goods and services in local markets, the weakening of the local currency is applying similar cost pressures to international procurement. In both cases, the unpredictability undermines the ability of clusters to precisely forecast the budgets required to meet the cost of the response. To accommodate this, each cluster applied inflation projections to their costings based on their specific operating, procurement and logistics processes and requirements.

Cost effectiveness

To improve cost efficiencies overall, a number of steps have been taken through the clusters and their partners, such as:

• Delivery of assistance is led by local organizations at subnational level using low-cost modalities such as localized procurement, among others.
• Tracking of the evolving situation on the ground through subnational coordination structures to avoid duplications in interventions and ensure that assistance is channeled through actors who are already operational in hotspot areas.
• Harmonized reporting, integrated service delivery, and coordinated supply pipelines.
• Whenever feasible, shared and coordinated logistics capacities across clusters to reduce transportation costs and avoid parallel supply chains.
• Optimized seasonal windows by scheduling activities and outreach during periods of safer road access and by pre-positioning supplies via land routes before the monsoon or conflict-related constraints increase reliance on costly air transport.
• Promotion of joint assessments, consultations, trainings, and coordinated field missions to reduce duplication and improve the efficiency of partner activities.
• In consultation with subnational partners, joint review and harmonization of unit prices for key interventions—averaging locally-validated costs across regions—which supports more realistic budgeting, reduces duplication, and promotes equitable, cost-effective delivery nationwide.