File Photo: IDPs / Photo: CJ
Mizzima
OCHA Myanmar (the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Myanmar) in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and UN agencies released an update, covering humanitarian developments, on 3 March.
Amongst its highlights and key messages are the following:
Across Myanmar, 18.6 million people need humanitarian assistance in 2024, with people struggling to survive amid conflict and insecurity, civilian safety and protection threats, as well as soaring inflation that is affecting people’s ability to meet basic needs.
Conflict spans various parts of the country with a deteriorating situation in Rakhine, as well as the Northwest and Southeast, driving new displacement. Nationwide, more than 2.7 million people are now displaced.
In Rakhine, people were killed and injured in Sittwe when a stray shell, landed in the downtown market on 29 February.
The closure of roads and waterways in Rakhine since the renewed conflict in November 2023 has led to food scarcity and other supply shortages, as well as increased prices of essential goods.
The situation in northern Shan has been relatively stable following the ceasefire agreed in January. However, landmine contamination, recruitment by armed groups, isolated tensions and movement restrictions remain a threat to local communities. UN staff temporarily relocated from Lashio will soon be returning due to the improved security situation.
Active fighting, administrative restrictions being imposed by all sides, and violence and harassment of humanitarian personnel remain key barriers to accessing affected people and providing lifesaving assistance.
At least 3.2 million people were reached with assistance in 2023 however this support is not as deep or sustained as planned due to underfunding and access constraints.
Through the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan aid workers aim to reach 5.3 million people with urgent assistance for which $994 million is required. A repeat of 2023 funding levels (HRP 37 per cent funded) in 2024 would be catastrophic for affected people.
As of 30 November 2023, OCHA Myanmar reported that there were 2.7 million internally displaced people in Myanmar, of which 2.4 million have been displaced since the February 2021 coup. 78,000 civilian properties have also been destroyed in the same perio
