Cash Emergency Preparedness (CEP) Assessment: Myanmar

Cash transfer programming (CTP) in emergencies is not new in Myanmar, with the first examples going back at least to Cyclone Nargis in 2009. CTP has also been used in humanitarian settings such as Kachin State. However, CTP is not yet being widely used for the current conflict context in Rakhine State due to the complexities of the situation. CTP has also been widely used in development programming in Myanmar, although this is not the focus of this assessment.

Despite the wide cash experience in Myanmar, this assessment found that to date there has been little innovation with the majority of cash transfers always being delivered through cash in envelopes or through banking, where it exists. The current climate in Myanmar is ripe for change, development and new technologies. It is hoped the changing political environment will enable the vast options available for CTP in different contexts to be explored more fully in the future. CTP as a tool has potential in Myanmar.

To read the assessment in full, download the report.