Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA) for Evidence-Based Aid Planning and Delivery in Myanmar While the impacts of the February 1st coup and the third wave of COVID-19 in 2021 are still very much felt in Myanmar, hostilities and conflict across the country have further escalated in 2022. Displacement figures continue to increase as a result of the continued escalation in violence and deteriorated security environment, with over 1.4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across the country as of November 2022. Simultaneously, the operational space for humanitarian actors is increasingly restricted, limiting access to vulnerable populations in need. Further to this, inflation continues to drive rising costs of basic commodities contributing to a shortfall in funding needed to support people in need. All these factors compound the multidimensional and nationwide nature of the crisis that Myanmar continues to face, defined by armed conflict, inter-communal tensions and vulnerability to a variety of natural hazards.

In order to address the evolving information needs of different humanitarian actors – including Clusters, UN agencies, NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) – REACH, in collaboration with UNOCHA proposes to conduct a Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) in order to inform the 2024 Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC) process, building on the lessons learned and experiences of the 2022 MSNA. REACH was formed in 2010 as a joint initiative of ACTED, its global partner IMPACT Initiatives (IMPACT), and UNOSAT, in order to promote and facilitate the development of information products that enhance the humanitarian community’s decision-making and planning capacity.

The assessment will consist of a multi-sectoral quantitative household (HH) survey across all 15 States, Regions and Union territory of Myanmar, (including the sub-regions of Bago West and East, and Shan North, East and South), with data collection likely to be implemented through a combination of remote and in-person partners, depending on the access conditions at the time of data collection. The MSNA is expected to include key clusters and working groups such as Cash and Markets, Education, Food Security, Health, Nutrition, Protection, Shelter/Non-Food Item (NFI)/ Camp Coordination and Camp Management(CCCM)/, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), as well as other cross-cutting issues, including Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and Disability. 

REACH will lead the overall technical implementation of the MSNA and provide oversight to each phase of the MSNA research cycle including: research design, data collection, cleaning, processing, joint inter-sectoral analysis of MSNA data and production of outputs including:
- A Terms of Reference (TOR)
- A Data Analysis Plan (DAP)

Further outputs are expected to be created under additional co-funding, which will be produced according the research design and methodology outlined the in the TOR, and questionnaire and analysis outlined in the DAP outputs, both produced under MHF funding. These additional outputs will include:
- 1 final (clean) household MSNA dataset
- 1 disaggregated descriptive statistics
- 1 preliminary findings presentation
- 1 MSNA bulletin
- 1 lessons learned report  

The MSNA will therefore provide data that will directly inform the 2024 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO)/Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), fulfilling Core Commitment 5 of the Grand Bargain through the conduct of a joint, impartial, and collaborative needs assessment.