Myanmar Humanitarian Update No. 27

This regular update, covering humanitarian developments up to 27 February, is produced by OCHA Myanmar in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and UN agencies. Response figures are based on self-reporting by organizations to clusters. The next humanitarian update will be issued at the end of March 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS & KEY MESSAGES

• Humanitarian needs are rising across Myanmar and the operational environment is tightening. Martial law is now declared in 47 townships across multiple states and regions.
• Concerns persist around the impact of new registration requirements on humanitarian operations.
• In the first two months of 2023, more than 154,000 people have been internally displaced and are living in precarious conditions in camps and informal sites often in jungles and forests. This brings the total number of IDPs since the military takeover to 1.3 million. As of 27 February, more than 1.6 million remain displaced from previous and current conflicts.
• Heavy fighting continues, particularly in Kachin, the Southeast, and Northwest, endangering lives and hampering humanitarian operations.
• The ceasefire between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) in Rakhine is still holding and the access environment has improved.
• Humanitarians reached a record 4.4 million people with assistance in 2022, however the support was not as deep or multi-sectoral as planned due to access constraints and severe underfunding.
• Some 17.6 million people - nearly one third of the population - are estimated to be in humanitarian need in 2023. The humanitarian community has prioritized support for 4.5 million people with severe needs, predominantly in conflict affected rural areas.
• Generous funding to the US$764m Humanitarian Response Plan for 2023 is critically important to make this work possible.

KEY FIGURES*

1.6M

Total people currently internally displaced across Myanmar

1.3M

People currently displaced by clashes and insecurity since February 2021

328K

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

55K

Civilian properties estimated burnt or destroyed since February 2021.

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

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Two months into 2023, reports of civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of civilian properties have continued. As of 27 February 2023, more than 1.6 million remained displaced across the country, according to the latest UN figures. This includes more than 1.3 million people who were displaced since the military takeover and more than 328,000 people who were displaced from previous conflicts. Of the total IDPs since the military takeover, the Northwest is hosting the highest number - now 915,000 people - followed by the Southeast - 379,200 people. IDPs are living in precarious situations in camps and informal sites, often in jungles and forests, with large-scale returns impossible due to the intensity of fighting, landmines, destruction of homes through aerial bombardment, and loss of livelihoods.

Humanitarian partners estimate that 17.6 million people are in need in 2023. The 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan targets 4.5 million people with the most severe needs, predominantly in conflict-affected rural areas. This will require the removal of physical and bureaucratic impediments to humanitarian access and more generous funding than was received last year (41 per cent of requirements in 2022). Two months into 2023, the humanitarian response plan is only two per cent funded. Generous funding for humanitarian interventions this year is critical.

In 2022, humanitarians were able to reach a record 4.4 million people, including 750,00 IDPs, with at least one form of assistance, at least once, however the assistance wasn’t as deep, multi-sectoral or sustained as planned due to underfunding and severe access constraints. This reach includes 900,000 people in the Southeast, more than 660,000 people in Rakhine, more than 500,000 people in the Northeast and almost 270,000 people in the Northwest.