This regular update, covering humanitarian developments up to 21 June, is produced by OCHA Myanmar in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and UN agencies. The next humanitarian update will be issued in July 2022.

HIGHLIGHTS & KEY MESSAGES

• The number of displaced men, women and children in Myanmar remains above one million. This includes nearly 760,000 people displaced by the conflict and insecurity since the military takeover in February last year.

• The monsoon season continues to cause heavy rain and flooding. In June in Kachin State, 600 people were relocated to higher grounds due to flooding. Responses by the de facto authorities and humanitarian partners are underway in high-risk areas.

• Humanitarians continue providing critical life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable people despite access challenges and limited funding. Concerted advocacy efforts have led to new, but modest access in the country’s southeast. Expanded access in hard-to reach areas across the southeast and the northwest (Chin, Sagaing and Magway) is still much needed.

• Inflation in commodity prices, including food, fuel, shelter materials and NFIs, remains a major concern to partners in addressing the needs of the most vulnerable people. Myanmar is particularly vulnerable to price hikes given its heavy dependence on importation of products.

• More than four million children—half of the school-aged children in Myanmar—have not accessed education for two full academic years.

• The limited availability of staff, health facilities and supplies are contributing to the worsening of maternal and child health outcomes and poor emergency health care. The monsoon season will increase the spread of communicable diseases, which requires urgent action and expansion of basic primary health care and preventive measures.

• Approximately 71,600 internally displaced people (IDPs) in MAF-AA displacement sites in Rakhine State lack treatment programs for malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women. This is a critical gap given levels of malnutrition in IDP communities in Rakhine State.

• The funding situation for 2022 remains dire with the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) only 11 per cent funded six months into the year. This leaves a gap of US$740m (FTS), negatively affecting the breadth and quality of assistance delivered by humanitarians.

KEY FIGURES *

1M People internally displaced across Myanmar

758K People currently displaced by clashes and insecurity since February 2021

346K People internally displaced mainly in Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, and Shan due to conflict prior to February 2021

18K Civilian properties estimated burnt or destroyed since February 2021.

*Displacement figures fluctuate during any given month. These figures represent the number of people currently displaced. Cumulative numbers for returns and displacement are not always available.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Fighting has escalated across multiple states and regions in Myanmar, particularly in the southeast and northwest during the reporting period, with no signs of abating. Nearly, 2,000 civilians were killed during hostilities and other fatal incidents, including landmines and explosive remnant of war (ERWs) since the military takeover. The number of IDPs has also continued to increase despite some reported returns. According to UN figures, the estimated number of IDPs since the military takeover has passed 758,000, including more than 250,000 children bringing the total number of IDP across the country to over 1,100,000. Over 40,000 people remain in neighbouring countries since the takeover. More than 18,058 civilian properties, including houses, churches, monasteries, and schools are estimated to have been destroyed during hostilities, although figures are difficult to verify. The level of destruction of civilian properties, particularly homes, combined with the seemingly never-ending fighting will very likely prolong the displacement of the IDPs and would further deteriorate their already fragile living conditions.

The current volatile security situation and its associated restrictions, such as bureaucratic processes, systematic blocks on access approvals, continue to hamper humanitarian access and delay the delivery of assistance. People’s suffering across the country will be prolonged. Despite these obstacles, humanitarian partners, including local partners, continue to stay and deliver critical and life-saving assistance to address both pre-existing and new emerging needs of the most affected people, including IDPs and host community, wherever possible. These include responses to temporary evacuated people who are affected by this year’s monsoon season. In parallel, recent concerted advocacy efforts to gain principled access have borne fruits in the past two months and partners managed to reach areas previously not fully accessible in Kayah, reaching tens of thousands of people with shelter, NFI, hygiene and food assistance. A multisector needs identification mission of the displaced population from Kayah to southern Shan was also possible. This will be followed by a multi-sectoral distribution at the end of June/early July. It is hoped that these openings could be a step towards broader access in hard-to-reach areas across the southeast. Despite these modest improvements, overall access to conflict areas remains a challenge especially in areas outside the control of the State Administration Council (SAC). Humanitarian access to the northwest also remains heavily restricted although some support is reaching people at a modest scale.

On top of access constraints, funding remains critical to provide the breadth and quality of humanitarian assistance. Six months into 2022, the Humanitarian Response Plan is only 11 per cent funded, leaving a gap of US$740m (FTS). The ability of humanitarian partners to save more lives and reduce suffering throughout the remainder of the year will be dependent on increased funding, improved access approvals, application of creative, flexible funding and response modalities, as well as the removal or easing of the bottlenecks such as visa delays and banking restrictions.