Highlights

• As of 29 August, the number of displaced people has reached 1.3 million nationally, including displacement since February 2021 and protracted displacement prior to the military takeover.
• Some schools reopened across the country, as the school year began in June, but many more remain closed, particularly in rural areas. Only 33 per cent opened in Kachin, Kayah, and Chin states while, in Sagaing region, around half the schools are closed because of the conflict. Levels of violence and instability have worsened, causing large-scale internal displacement and disrupting children’s opportunities to learn safely.
• The Mine Action Area of Responsibility (AoR) reported 185 incidents of landmines and explosive ordnance from January to June 2022 of which 33 percent of the casualties are children. UNICEF continues to work towards providing assistance to the victims and increasing explosive risk education for children and their parents.
• UNICEF and its partners have seen a marked improvement in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) indicator. 40,834 people were assisted during the period, a 53 per cent increase compared to the previous month, due to the implementing a variety of methods including virtual access and hotlines, capacity building and communities empowering, allowing expanded access in hard to reach areas.
• A total of 3,568 children aged 9 to 18 months were vaccinated against measles in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan during the reporting period.

Situation in Numbers

5,000,000 children in need of humanitarian assistance (HRP 2022)

14,400,000 people in need (HRP 2022)

974,400 Internally displaced people after 1 February 2021 (UNHCR)

45,500 People displaced to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021

330,400 people living in protracted displacement before February 2021 (UNHCR)

Funding Overview and Partnerships

UNICEF Myanmar Country Office is appealing for US$151.4 million to deliver humanitarian assistance to displaced people and host communities across the country. The Myanmar Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) estimates that, in 2022, 14.4 million people, including 5 million children, need assistance. From January to August 2022, UNICEF has received generous contributions from the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA), the European Commission/ECHO, the German Federal Foreign Office, Global Thematic Humanitarian Funds, Denmark, Japan, Norway, the Korean Committee for UNICEF and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). UNICEF Myanmar has so far received US$31.93 million; an increase of US$0.8 million from the previous reporting period. This fund has already contributed to delivering much-needed assistance through UNICEF programmes for Nutrition, Health, HIV/AIDS, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Education, Child Protection, Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (GBViE), Protection of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), Social Protection, Accountability Affected Population (AAP) and Cluster coordination. The Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal had a funding gap of 79 per cent by the end of August. This affects humanitarian assistance and services to the targeted populations, especially children in need. Continued support from donors means that UNICEF can scale up responses and accelerate service deliveries to the population in dire need. UNICEF expresses its sincere appreciation to all private and public sector donors for their contributions to supporting the children of Myanmar.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Overall, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate across the country, with an escalation in armed conflict in the northwest and southeast regions and in Kachin state, resulting in increased displacement. As of 29 August 2022, an estimated 974,4001 people had been internally displaced since February 2021, which has resulted in more than 1.3 million internally displaced people living in camps, protracted settings and informal displacement sites across the country.

The northwest region remains the most affected by the crisis with more than 665,700 displaced people; these are mainly in Sagaing (528,300), Magway (98,100), and Chin (39,300). An estimated 44,300 people crossed the border to the Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur. More than 22,544 civilian properties including houses, churches and monasteries have been destroyed or burnt in the northwest region. Access to the area for aid workers has not improved, as the de facto authorities maintain tight control on issuing travel authorizations. The United Nations continues to engage with the authorities to try to gain better access to more townships in the northwest region. The Humanitarian Country Team has approved an Inter Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) for the northwest, which will address strategic operational issues.

The number of displaced people in Kachin state increased from 1,600 as of 25 July to 10,000 by the end of August. This is in addition to the 91,500 displaced people living in protracted situations since before 2021. During the first week of August, more than 2,300 people (53 per cent women) were displaced in Hpakant township, Kachin State due to intensified clashes. UNICEF, in partnership with Karuna Mission Social Solidarity (KMSS), provided WASH supplies to 111 households in the displacement sites.

In Rakhine, the humanitarian situation remains unpredictable due to the heightened tension and clashes between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar Armed Forces. Access to locations with high humanitarian needs, such as Maungdaw north, remains severely constrained, impacting the ability of humanitarian actors to provide assistance to the population in need. Across the state, 219,000 people remain in a situation of protracted displacement.

In northern Shan state, a total of 656 people were displaced in Nawnghkio township due to armed clashes during 5 August and 7 August, but they returned to their homes on 12 August. Humanitarian agencies are finding it harder to access camps for displaced people in southern Shan and Kayah due to increased restrictions on movement of humanitarian assistance. The security situation in Kayah state is deteriorating as clashes continue, particularly in Hpruso and Demoso townships. In the southeast, armed conflicts have escalated across the region, specifically in Bago East where the number of displaced people has risen sharply to 33,800 by the end of August.

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