This regular update, covering humanitarian developments from 1 and 26 December, is produced by OCHA Myanmar in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and UNHCR. The January Humanitarian update will be issued in early February 2022.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The security and humanitarian situation across Myanmar remains tense, with continued armed clashes in multiple states and regions, resulting in additional loss of life, destruction of civilian property and increasing internal and cross-border displacement.
• On 24 December, at least 35 civilians, including four children and two humanitarian actors, were killed and burnt in Kayah State, south-eastern Myanmar.
• As of 27 December, an estimated 320,900 people remained internally displaced across Myanmar due to clashes and insecurity since 1 February 2021. This is in addition to the 340,000 people living in protracted displacement before February 2021.
• A small number of partners were able to reach IDPs and other affected people in acute conflict areas during December, but greater access remains critical for the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people.
• At the end of the year, the Humanitarian Response plan was 58 per cent funded receiving US$225.3 million of the $385.7 million requested for 2021. In 2022, the humanitarian community requires increased funding to bring in additional resources to scale up its efforts to address the unmet and escalating needs.
• On 31 December, the 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview was published identifying 14.4 million people in need. The 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan will be published by the end of January outlining efforts to reach 6.2 million people with assistance and requiring $826 million.
KEY FIGURES
320K people currently displaced across Myanmar by clashes and insecurity since February 2021
175K people currently displaced in southeast Myanmar by insecurity and clashes since February 2021
132K people currently displaced in Chin State, Magway and Sagaing regions by clashes and insecurity since May 2021
17K people currently displaced in Shan since January 2021 and in Kachin since March 2021 due to clashes and insecurity
SITUATION OVERVIEW
The security and humanitarian situation in Myanmar remains volatile, with civilians bearing the brunt of ongoing armed clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) and/or various PDFs, as well as between EAOs, in multiple states and regions. In Kayin and Kayah states, as well as Magway and Sagaing regions, clashes have intensified, resulting in increasing civilian casualties, destruction of civilian properties and internal and cross-border displacement.
Since the February military takeover, more than 2,200 houses and other civilian properties have reportedly either been burnt down or destroyed, mainly in Chin (800), Kayah (654), Sagaing (529), and Magway (223). As of 27 December 2021, an estimated 320,900 people were internally displaced due to clashes and insecurity since 1 February, according to UNHCR figures. The southeast of the country (Kayin, Kayah and southern Shan) recorded the highest new internal displacement with 175,700 IDPs (55 per cent), followed by the northwest part (Sagaing, Magway and Chin) with 132,200 IDPs (41 per cent), Shan with 14,400 IDPs (four per cent) and Kachin with 3,200 IDPs (one per cent). In addition, 340,000 people remain displaced due to earlier conflicts before 2021. This includes 106,800 people in protracted displacement camps (since 2011) in Kachin and northern Shan; 144,000, mostly Rohingya people, in camps in Rakhine State (since 2012); and 79,900 people displaced in Rakhine State and southern Chin due to conflict between the Arakan Army (AA) and the MAF from early 2019 and late 2020. More than 19,000 people have crossed the borders into neighbouring countries since February 2021.
With only 58 per cent of the requested funding (US$225.3 million out of $385.7 million) received in 2021, the UN and its humanitarian partners succeeded in providing record levels of life-saving assistance and protection services. As of early December, the humanitarian response reached more than 2.4 million out of the three million people in need identified in the original 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan and subsequent Myanmar Interim Emergency Response Plan (June-December). Final full-year figures for 2021 will be available in February 2022. Despite this significant scaleup, humanitarian needs continue to grow. In 2022, humanitarians estimate 14.4 million people are in humanitarian need and have prioritized 6.2 million for urgent assistance. To meet these needs $826 million in funding and expanded access will be required.
