This regular update, covering humanitarian developments up to 31 July, is produced by OCHA Myanmar in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and UN agencies. The next humanitarian update will be issued in August 2022.

HIGHLIGHTS & KEY MESSAGES

• More than 1.2 million people are currently displaced across the country. This includes nearly 866,400 people displaced by the conflict and insecurity since the military takeover last year.

• Inflation in commodity prices, including for food, fuel, shelter materials and NFIs, remains a major concern to partners in addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. Interim measures are being applied to mitigate against its impact on humanitarian programming where possible, but communities are struggling in the face of cost pressures.

• Humanitarians are stepping up efforts to expand support to affected people in northwest Myanmar which hosts the majority of the country’s new IDPs (583,100 as of 25 July 2022).

• Contingency planning is underway as tensions escalate in Rakhine.

• The unstable security situation and cyclical displacement across the Southeast and Northwest are exacerbating mental health issues among children and their caregivers, generating increased need for child protection responses in these areas.

• In northern Shan, forced recruitment, extortion and landmines continue to put IDPs and host communities at risk.

• In Rakhine, there remain significant shelter gaps for displaced people. There are also significant deficits in water availability in the AA-MAF sites in Rakhine and Chin.

• In the Southeast, shelter and other humanitarian support is urgently needed for newly displaced people including 5,400 new IDPs in Kyaukkyi township in eastern Bago.

• The 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is only 13 per cent funded prompting the need for prioritization in the second half of the year.

KEY FIGURES

1.2M People internally displaced across Myanmar

866K People currently displaced by clashes and insecurity since February 2021

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

21K 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

The people of Myanmar continue to bear the brunt of ongoing hostilities and a crippling economic situation that has been compounded by increasing inflation since May. Both crises have entrenched people’s pre-existing vulnerabilities and generated new needs. There are currently, more than 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in camps and informal displacement sites across the country. Of those who are displaced, 866,4002 fled their homes since the 2021 military takeover. A further 346,600 people are in protracted displacement as a result of conflict prior to 2021, the majority of whom are in Rakhine State. Many of the new IDPs have been displaced multiple times. Many have been sheltering for months in the jungle, where it is difficult to reach them with humanitarian assistance, particularly during the rainy season.

During the past year, limited numbers of IDPs have managed to return to their places of origin, but this is sometimes short-lived and most people have been unable to return due to insecurity and ongoing hostilities in their places of origin, the destruction of their homes, or lack of livelihood opportunities. More than 21,000 civilian properties, including homes, churches, monasteries, and schools, have reportedly been destroyed since the military takeover.
Humanitarian partners are trying to reach 6.2 million people with life-saving assistance this year, including IDPs in conflict areas, wherever access is possible. Despite the ongoing access challenges and shortfalls in funding, humanitarian partners have been providing affected people with critical life-saving assistance, including emergency shelter and NFIs, food and livelihood assistance, health and nutrition, education, as well as protection services, including child protection, gender-based violence, legal aid and mine action, to alleviate their suffering and strengthen their resilience. Mid-year results are being finalized now and are expected to show at least 3 million people or almost half the 2022 target have been reached with humanitarian assistance since the beginning of the year. The Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) is working to identify ways of expanding reach into under-served, high displacement areas, particularly in the Northwest where the response has been challenging. On 29 July, the HCT endorsed a proposal to proceed with the establishment of a sub-national ICCG for the Northwest to improve coordination and information sharing, as well as access advocacy.
Myanmar remains one of only four countries in the world classified by ACAPS as having “extreme” access constraints, alongside Eritrea, Ukraine and Yemen.3 A new analysis of the physical, conflict and stakeholder constraints that are affecting accessibility in different parts of the country has been produced by the Humanitarian Access Working Group.
The analysis indicates that humanitarian access is considered ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to at least 1.4 million people of the 6.2 million targeted for assistance this year. High-level efforts continue to advocate for access to these areas and donors are encouraged to support efforts by partners in underserved locations where needs are severe, on the understanding that this work may take longer, require more human resources and deliver results on a smaller scale because of the access constraints.
Several inter-agency needs monitoring missions have taken place in the first half of the year. In late June, several UN agencies visited one relocation site, one temporary displacement site and three protracted IDP camps in Kyaukme,
Manton and Namtu townships in northern Shan to assess the overall humanitarian situation of the IDPs and identify need and gaps in responses. Based on the findings of this mission, IDPs are in need of more vocational training activities to support their livelihoods. In Namtu township, IDPs are in need of desludging services and water purifying chemicals. Displaced children have access to public education in these two towns, and health services are also provided, but there is a need to scale-up. With the ongoing increase of commodity prices, the running costs for camps have become challenging within existing allocations, especially in protracted IDP camps and relocation sites in Manton and Namtu townships. The UN, in collaboration with its partners, including local organization, is currently arranging responses to the identified needs. The joint distribution mission to southern Shan that was scheduled for early July in response to a prior needs monitoring mission, remains pending due to travel authorization issues. Advocacy is underway to resolve this delay.
It is critical that humanitarian partners have unconditional, unimpeded and safe access to all affected people wherever they are in Myanmar. Funding is also critically needed, especially in light of the increasing inflation since May 2022, in order to save more lives, protect people and alleviate their suffering. As of 27 July, the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan is only 13 per cent funded, leaving a gap of $719 million (FTS) and clusters will be working to make difficult prioritization decisions for the second half of the year.

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