Mizzima
Food insecurity in Myanmar has risen sharply amid the worst humanitarian crisis in its recent history, affecting 12.9 million or one in four people, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
Also, 18.6 million people need humanitarian assistance and 2.6 million have been displaced by conflict in Myanmar.
The WFP says that the political crisis, conflict, economic downturn, pre-existing poverty and climate-related shocks are all driving the emergency.
Conflict is spreading into new areas, driving displacement at a record scale. Most displaced people are cut off from access to food and often dependent on WFP assistance for survival.
Meanwhile, the country is highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters. In May 2023, Cyclone Mocha left a devastating trail, with WFP launching a life-saving response for hundreds of thousands of people. Unprecedented floods in October 2023 prompted the WFP to provide emergency food assistance to 24,000 people.
Despite immense security constraints, humanitarian access and funding challenges, WFP said that it is doing its utmost to assist at least 2 million people in 2024, increasingly working with local partners.
WFP’s priority is to ensure life-saving assistance reaches communities affected by conflict. Following breakthroughs over the past two years in accessing hard-to-reach locations, WFP has launched emergency food and nutrition programmes in Kayah State, southern Shan State and Bago Region for thousands of people. Meanwhile, WFP continues monthly assistance to 360,000 people in border areas, including Rohingya communities, who have been displaced for a protracted period.
WFP also provides a comprehensive package of nutrition support to pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children aged between six months and five years. WFP also provides food and cash-based nutrition support to people living with HIV and TB, and delivers nutrition education and counselling.
In areas with relative stability, WFP is creating livelihood opportunities and improving resilience through projects for the development of community assets such as roads, terrace land, irrigation canals, flood-protection dykes and home gardens. In 2023, over 46,000 people received food/cash assistance, as well as health and nutrition education, for their participation in WFP’s community resilience projects.
WFP also said that it urgently needs US$86.6 million to sustain aid for vulnerable communities until May 2024, and it is calling on the international community to scale up its support to the people of Myanmar.
