19-12-2023 (YANGON) More than 18 million people, constituting one-third of Myanmar’s population, are now in urgent need of humanitarian aid, according to a warning from the United Nations on December 18. The UN is appealing for one billion dollars in donations for the coming year to address the escalating crisis.
The humanitarian situation in Myanmar has significantly deteriorated since the military coup nearly three years ago, the global body emphasized. A report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), published on December 18, highlighted the deepening crisis in the country.
“Myanmar stands at the precipice in 2024 with a deepening humanitarian crisis that has spiralled since the military takeover in February 2021 with the civilian population that is now living in fear,” stated the report.
The current figure of 18.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance represents an increase of one million from the previous year and is 19 times higher than the number in 2020, prior to the coup.
Children are disproportionately affected by the crisis, with 6 million in need due to various factors, including displacement, interrupted healthcare and education, food insecurity, malnutrition, and protection risks such as forced recruitment and mental distress, cautioned Mr Marcoluigi Corsi, the UN’s interim humanitarian coordinator for Myanmar.
The report underscored the alarming issue of mass displacement, with nearly 2.6 million people displaced as of December 11. This marks an increase of 1.1 million compared to the same period in 2022. The recent escalation of conflict between the military and ethnic minority fighters in the country’s north has led to over 660,000 people being displaced since late October.
Furthermore, the report anticipates that conflicts and violence will worsen in 2024, condemning the systematic military violence against civilians.
In response to the urgent circumstances, OCHA has called for $994 million in donations to aid the 5.3 million people identified as top priorities for assistance in Myanmar in 2024.
“We cannot afford a repeat of the gross underfunding seen in 2023,” remarked Mr Corsi, highlighting that only 29% of the required funding was met last year, leaving an estimated 1.9 million people prioritized for aid in 2023 without assistance.
With the majority of UN international aid programs remaining underfunded, Mr Corsi stressed the critical need for collective action to prevent Myanmar from becoming a forgotten emergency, emphasizing that millions of lives are at stake.
