Transitional country strategy (TCS), Myanmar: 2025–2028
Overview
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Myanmar witnessed remarkable advancements in socioeconomic and health spheres. The country achieved tremendous economic growth and halved poverty levels; there was a steady rise in life expectancy, along with a sharp reduction in maternal, child and infant deaths. The twin shocks from the pandemic and the political conflict in 2021 stalled the advancements.
Myanmar was certified polio-free in 2014. Routine immunization coverage until 2019 remained high, involving most of the antigens. A sharp decline in coverage was witnessed during 2020–2021, resulting in Myanmar being counted as one of the 20 countries with a high burden of underimmunized/unimmunized children. Despite high maternal deaths, Myanmar’s women continue to live longer than men, as the life expectancy for men has dipped to a low of 62.8 years, compared with 71.3 years for women.
While the country achieved the 2020 milestones with regard to tuberculosis (TB) incidence, the estimated TB incidence rate in Myanmar in 2023 (new cases per 100 000 population per year) stood at 558, over three times higher than the global average of 135. Similarly, the malaria incidence rate remained high at 4.21 per 1000 population in 2023. However, the incidence of HIV had shown a downward trend from a high of 0.29 per 100 000 population in 2015 to 0.19 per 100 000 population in 2023. Nonetheless, the noncommunicable disease (NCD) burden remains high in the country, accounting for 7 in 10 deaths, with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and other NCDs claiming a significant number of lives.
In view of the protracted emergencies and contested claims to the legitimacy of governance in Myanmar, the WHO Country Office will implement the Transitional Country Strategy (TCS). The TCS is a medium-term strategic framework for Myanmar, spanning 2025–2028. It sets out to guide the Organization’s work and its plan to achieve strategic deliverables by prioritizing key interventions.
The TCS draws its framework from the United Nations Country Team’s (UNCT’s) Transitional Cooperation Framework (TCF) 2024–2025 and aligns with the WHO Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14), besides being linked to the Regional Director’s Roadmaps for Results and Resilience for the South-East Asia Region. The TCS will remain the key instrument in the development of the WHO Country Office for Myanmar’s Programme Budget and operational planning for 2025–2028.
The operationalization of the TCS is underpinned by planning assumptions and risk mitigation measures. The expansion and intensification of the conflict to newer areas are likely to disrupt an already shrinking operational space for an effective intervention. At the upstream level, while policy support is on pause, strategic and action plan support will continue with the help of health authorities. Any profound political change planned by the authorities in late 2025 is likely to open up policy space for interventions
