MYANMAR

Myanmar’s metabolic-health crisis cannot be separated from conflict, displacement and disruption of the health and food systems. Childhood undernutrition remains severe, while diabetes, hypertension and other noncommunicable diseases continue even when clinics, markets and household incomes are under extreme pressure.

Myanmar at a Glance

• UNICEF’s 2024 nutrition fact sheet reported that 29% of children under five were stunted and about 800,000 children were wasted.
• Conflict-affected children and women need nutrition services on a very large scale, while insecurity restricts access to care.
• Interrupted supply chains can make nutritious foods and essential medicines scarce or unaffordable.
• Emergency nutrition and long-term prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease must be pursued together.

Conflict Is a Health Determinant

Displacement changes what families can grow, buy, cook and store. Damage to clinics, unsafe travel, loss of income and interruptions to vaccination, antenatal care and clean-water systems compound malnutrition. In this setting, telling individuals simply to “make better choices” is inadequate. Health protection requires humanitarian access, functioning primary care, reliable medicine supply and support for local food systems.

Nutrition screening and treatment for wasting are urgent, especially for young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women. The first 1,000 days remain critical, but services must be designed for mobile and conflict-affected populations.

Traditional Foods and Food-System Resilience

Rice is the main staple, while pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, fish, vegetables and fermented foods add valuable protein and micronutrients. Myanmar is an important producer of pulses, yet nutritious crops do not automatically reach vulnerable households. Storage, transport, price stability and safe local markets determine whether agricultural abundance becomes dietary security.

Protecting seed diversity, smallholder production, fisheries and community food networks can reduce dependence on expensive packaged foods. As elsewhere, the metabolic effect of rice depends on milling, portions and the rest of the meal; it should not be isolated from the loss of vegetables and protein or the rise of sweet drinks and refined snacks.

Noncommunicable Disease During Crisis

Diabetes and hypertension do not pause during emergencies. Missed screening, interrupted insulin or antihypertensive treatment, and delayed care can turn manageable disease into disability. Humanitarian and primary-care services should include continuity plans for essential NCD medicines, blood-pressure measurement and glucose assessment alongside acute and maternal-child care.

Practical Priorities

• Secure humanitarian access for nutrition, clean water, maternal care and essential medicines.
• Screen and treat childhood wasting while preventing stunting through maternal and infant nutrition.
• Maintain diabetes and hypertension care during displacement and insecurity.
• Support rice, pulses, oilseeds, fisheries, gardens and local market recovery.
• Protect children from displacement of real food by sweet drinks and nutrient-poor packaged products.

Selected Authoritative Sources

• UNICEF Myanmar: Health and nutrition
• UNICEF Myanmar: Nutrition Fact Sheet 2024
• WHO: Myanmar noncommunicable-disease surveillance

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