Myanmar

Publications

Situation and Priorities

Social protection situation
It is estimated that 98% of the population in Myanmar does not have access to adequate social protection (2019). The Social Security Law (2012) covers all social protection branches, however only five have at least one national programme currently implemented: work injury, child and family, and health insurance including sickness and maternity. These benefits are only currently available to a small but growing formal sector, and are administered by the Social Security Board (SSB).

Since 2012, the Government of Myanmar has made social protection a development priority. With the support of the ILO, the Government adopted a National Social Protection Strategic Plan in December 2014. The Plan aims to:
  1. Improve existing social security schemes for the growing formal sector.
  2. Create universal schemes to guarantee minimum protection to all, especially vulnerable people and the informal economy.
COVID-19 and other crises
The government of Myanmar introduced and extended emergency social protection measures to alleviate pressure on workers, including through sickness cash benefits for insured workers who had to quarantine, and providing free medical treatment for dismissed workers in some sectors. The emergency measures were financed through the reserves of the SSB, which could negatively affect the financial future of their regular contributory schemes.

The government also provided wage subsidies for workers in factories who had been ordered to temporarily close. COVID-19 highlighted the need for Myanmar to implement an unemployment protection scheme, although fiscal space constraints will require a contributory scheme to first be established.
Government and social partner priorities
Social protection has been a development priority of the government of Myanmar since 2012. The current priorities of the National Social Protection Strategic Plan include:
  • Achieving universal health coverage by 2030.
  • SSB: progessively introduce management information systems & become a more client-centric organization.
  • Implementing a universal pension scheme and a maternity and child cash transfer at national level, measures decided upon following an ILO-supported assessment based national dialogue (ABND).
  • Implement an unemployment insurance system.

Workspaces

ILO Experts

IMG
Markus Ruck
Senior Social Protection Specialist
IMG
Ippei Tsuruga
Social Protection Programme Manager