Mizzima
The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has released its latest humanitarian update covering the period until 22 May 2024
Below are highlights and key messages from the report:
- The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar has entered a dangerous new chapter with entrenched conflict posing grave risks to civilians, stirring a worrying resurgence of inter-communal tension and driving record levels of displacement.
- The humanitarian situation in Rakhine is particularly alarming with fighting intensifying and intercommunal tensions simmering. Access restrictions remain severe despite soaring needs. With the peak of the dry season, water scarcity and cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) have been widely reported while an estimated 1.6 million people are now estimated to be without access to hospital care in central and northern Rakhine.
- In Kayin, an intense battle for control of the key border trading town of Myawaddy resulted in both internal displacement and fluid cross-border population movement. An estimated 4,000 people from Myawaddy Town and the surrounding areas remain displaced along the Myanmar-Thai border.
- As the volatile monsoon season approaches, strong winds and heavy rain have already hit several townships in Chin, Magway, Sagaing, and northern Shan in recent months, causing damage and destruction to civilian properties and other structures.
- Despite these challenges, humanitarian partners continue to deliver assistance to people in need, reaching almost 1 million people during the first quarter of 2024 despite gross underfunding.
- The 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) remains alarmingly under-resourced, with only 10 per cent of required funding received, according to the Financial Tracking Service (FTS). This is despite the deepening needs, the surge in new displacement, and soaring inflation that have further stretched the grossly insufficient resources across clusters.
The humanitarian update is produced by OCHA Myanmar under its global mandate, in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and UN agencies. The next humanitarian update will be issued mid-June 2024.
