Humanitarian effects of Myanmar conflict 'significant and deeply concerning': UN

WASHINTON

A UN official voiced concern Thursday about the humanitarian effects of ongoing violence in Myanmar.

"The ongoing escalation of the conflict in Myanmar, including the worst levels of violence since 2021, is severely affecting people in nearly every corner of the country and having alarming spill-over effects into neighboring countries.

"The humanitarian impacts are significant and deeply concerning," Lisa Doughten, head of the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization Division, told a UN Security Council meeting on Myanmar.

Stressing that people in Myanmar are living in fear for their lives, Doughten said 2.8 million people have now been displaced, with 90% since the military takeover.

"Many of these people require urgent access to food, shelter and safety. As the number of people fleeing increases, it will be critical to sustain international and regional attention on the crisis, including on strengthening the protection of refugees in the region," she said, warning hunger is "mounting" across Myanmar.

Food insecurity is affecting 12.9 million people in Myanmar in 2024 and it is estimated that 12 million will need emergency health assistance this year, she said.

Underlying that the children are "bearing the brunt" of the crisis, Doughten said severe interruption to education has affected almost 12 million learners in the past three years.

She added that the crisis is "disproportionately" affecting women and girls.

"Almost 9.7 million of them are in need of humanitarian assistance, with the escalating violence increasing their vulnerability and exposure to trafficking and gender-based violence," she said.

18.6 million need humanitarian assistance in 2024

Across Myanmar, the humanitarian community estimates that 18.6 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2024 -- a 19-fold increase since February 2021, she said.

"As the conflict continues to escalate, as humanitarian needs intensify, and with the monsoon season just around the corner, time is of the essence for the people of Myanmar.

"They cannot afford for us to forget. They cannot afford to wait. They need the support of the international community now to help them survive in this time of fear and turmoil," Doughten said as he urged sustained international and regional attention on the crisis.

In 2017, Myanmar’s military launched violent operations against the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State which rights groups have since called a genocide. Nearly 1.2 million Rohingya were forced into neighboring Bangladesh, where they have been living for years in overcrowded refugee camps.

Since the coup in Myanmar in 2021 that ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar military carried out a "brutal nationwide crackdown" on millions of people opposed to its rule.