LIFT IN MYANMAR

In the Global Humanitarian Overview, 2025, the UN estimates that approximately one-third of Myanmar’s population—almost 20 million people—require assistance to lead a decent and safe life.
 
As the largest development actor in the country, the Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT) addresses structural drivers of poverty and food insecurity through diverse, locally anchored programmes.
 
Strategic Direction
By promoting sustainable livelihoods for individuals and supporting agricultural food systems and value chains, LIFT strengthens the resilience of poor and vulnerable households, often through community-led initiatives. LIFT is committed to prioritizing at-risk, marginalized, and disadvantaged groups.
 
Humanitarian Window
As Myanmar is prone to natural disasters, LIFT has developed a Humanitarian Window to enable partners to deliver life-saving assistance within hours of a crisis.
  • In 2023, LIFT provided humanitarian assistance to people affected by Cyclone Mocha, mainly in western parts of Myanmar, including food and cash distributions, and the construction and rehabilitation of potable water wells.
  • In 2024, LIFT supported families affected by Typhoon Yagi’s flooding in September with cash and other emergency response necessities.
  • In 2025, LIFT was a leader in responding to the March 28 Sagaing earthquake. Within hours, LIFT partners started providing humanitarian assistance worth over US$2 million to the worst-affected communities and transitioned to recovery.
The Nexus Approach
LIFT’s value-add is that it can quickly pivot along the nexus approach, moving from development and resilience-building activities to support communities in need of humanitarian support, and then apply an integrated recovery plan that helps restore and protect hard-won development gains.
 
LIFT’s funded projects focus on:
  • Food security and climate-smart agricultural production
  • Ensuring access to sufficient, nutritious food
  • Creating income-generating opportunities
  • Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs)
Drawing on years of experience working in a rapidly evolving environment, LIFT prioritizes strengthening the resilience of Myanmar’s most vulnerable groups, including women-headed households, the elderly, and people living with disabilities. Two-thirds of LIFT’s beneficiaries are women, and 1.2 per cent are people living with disabilities.
 
Governance and Management
Established in 2009, LIFT was the first pooled fund operating in Myanmar. Sixteen years later, it continues to be driven by the conviction that pooling resources leads to more coherent, well-coordinated, and effective impactful programs benefitting the people.
 
LIFT is generously funded by Australia, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA.
 
LIFT is managed by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).