One year after the Myanmar earthquake, the Middle East crisis threatens to bring more hunger

Myint Myint starts work before dawn and finishes late at night as she prepares for the next work day. Photo: WFP/HT O Lin

Under a large tree next to a stream flowing through Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, the day begins long before sunrise. At around 4 a.m., Myint Myint lights a fire and starts frying samosas and pancakes as the city wakes up.

This is the Myint Myint workspace. It is also a neighborhood space where people gather to escape the hot dry sun. Buyers soon arrive, some buying a few of her snacks for breakfast, while others take large quantities to resell elsewhere. Either way, it struggles to make a profit, as people buy less and expenses rise.

“You really need two pools of capital to keep the business going,” Myint Myint says. “Just one is not enough.”

A year after a massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, killing thousands and destroying entire communities, the recovery remains fragile – despite the post-quake support from the World Food Program that helped many like Myint Myint get back on their feet. In the areas affected by the earthquake, half of the families are still marginally food secure, living day to day and unable to absorb even the smallest shocks.

Now the Middle East crisis, which has upended supply chains and sent global food prices soaring, is creating more difficulties.

“In the year since groundbreaking, we have seen amazing community resilience,” says Michael Dunford, WFP Country Representative and Director. “But resilience is not an armor.” “People may be standing again, but many are still standing on the edge.”

Post-earthquake support Food and cash assistance provided by the World Food Program following the earthquake that struck Myanmar last year helped many survivors get back on their feet. Photo: WFP/Ariete/Photo Library

Myint Myint’s little roadside stall is more than just a business. It was a lifeline for her family – especially after her husband died a decade ago, leaving her to raise two sons and run the business on her own. She built her business slowly, from client to client.

“I learned by watching others, starting small and building up until I eventually made a few regulars here and there,” Myint Myint says.

When the earthquake struck Myanmar in late March 2025, it destroyed more than buildings and roads. For many poor families like Myint Myint’s, this eliminated what little they had to go on.

For Mint Mint, that meant the raw ingredients needed to make pancakes and emergency capital. Suddenly, she was no longer able to reopen her stall. Like many other destitute survivors, she struggled to feed her family and make ends meet.

But WFP’s post-earthquake cash assistance of 360,000 kyats (about US$93) changed the course of their future – demonstrating the power of timely, multi-purpose support to not only help families eat, but also regain their independence.

In addition to cash assistance reaching half a million affected people, the World Food Program is helping communities rebuild the foundations for long-term recovery. In Myanmar’s dry zone, covering many earthquake-affected areas, we are rehabilitating village roads and irrigation canals to reconnect farmers to markets and protect future crops. Elsewhere, in Shan State, we are helping to restore damaged floating farms – a vital source of food and income for local communities.

For Myint Myint, cash support from the World Food Program allowed her to resume her work. “I never dreamed I would make that kind of money,” she recalls. “I went out on sale again the next day. It made me realize that my life wasn’t over yet.”

Living on the edge Myint Myint is back in business, but selling less as its customers tighten their belts during tough economic times. Photo: WFP/HT O Lin

A year after the earthquake, Mint Mint returned to her stall, back to the fire before dawn, to do what she knew best.

Cooking pancakes is repetitive and physical. Onions must be peeled, washed and cut into slices. Potatoes must be prepared. By the time Myint Myint sells her wares and prepares for the next work day, it is nearly midnight.

“We were able to make about 300 samosas,” she says. “Once we reach 300 or 350, we call it a day.”

But recovery does not mean security. Like many women who support their families alone, Myint Myint has little margin for error. Her stall brings in enough to survive. Even before the earthquake, she was living in and out of debt, taking each day as it came.

The earthquake, among other shocks, affected many in Myanmar. Myint Myint’s business is slower today than it used to be, with cash-strapped customers buying less. She now sells about 700 pieces of different snacks a day: Indian-style pancakes, traditional Burmese pancakes, bean pancakes, and the crunchy toppings often eaten with the national dish, mohinga. Before the earthquake, it was producing more than 1,000 pieces.

Combined with inflation, weak demand is shrinking their already tight margins. “When capital runs low, you have to find a way to borrow or withdraw money from somewhere else,” she says.

Middle East repercussions Besides shattered buildings, the 2025 Myanmar earthquake wiped out the livelihoods of many poor families. The repercussions of the Middle East crisis represent a new shock. Photo: WFP/HT O Lin

Myint Myint’s experience reflects a broader pattern seen in earthquake-affected areas of Sagaing and Mandalay, where one in six households faces moderate to severe food insecurity. Experts fear that hunger will worsen as the cost of fuel and basic materials such as rice rises, along with fertilizer prices, as farmers in Myanmar prepare to plant seasonal crops.

“This new wave of global instability is hitting Myanmar at the worst possible moment,” says Dunford of the World Food Programme.

Mint Mint knows full well how fragile her recovery is. She is still in debt and is worried about her next rent. Rain could still ruin her work. Another shock could push it back into crisis.

“Life is not always a smooth ride,” she says. “Things may get worse, or they may get better. Just don’t give up or lose your resolve. You have to keep fighting until you finally get back on your feet.”

WFP’s support to earthquake survivors was made possible by contributions from the European Union, France, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund and other donors.

In order to maintain life-saving aid while protecting recovery gains, WFP needs US$150 million in 2026 to support 1.5 million people across Myanmar.

Learn more about WFP’s work in Myanmar

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