Myanmar: Humanitarian Response Plan 2023 - Year-End Dashboard (Jan - Dec 2023)

OVERVIEW

At the close of 2023, Myanmar was entrenched in a deepening humanitarian crisis with the civilian population facing new dimensions of conflict across multiple fronts that are driving surging displacement and escalating humanitarian needsincreasing fear for their lives and is now grappling with exhausted coping capacities. The humanitarian situation remained dire at year’s end, primarily fueled by profound protection risks from conflict and discrimination, compounded by a range of challenges such as food insecurity, a beleaguered health system, disrupted education, and the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha which struck Myanmar in May and affected more than three million people. Inflation and conflict have led to a sharp increase in the price of essential items, leaving vulnerable households hungry and economically distressed, pushing many to resort to negative coping measures for survival.

The final days of 2023 witnessed intense fighting across the majority of states and regions, compelling civilians to flee their homes, often multiple times, largely due to fears of indiscriminate attacks and the use of aerial bombardment. As of 31 December, more than 2.6 million people were estimated to be displaced nationwide, facing dire conditions and inadequate shelter, often in informal sites, with a desperate need for basic services like clean water. Those on the move are confronting escalating risks from explosive ordnance, and individuals in protracted displacement situations are seeing their vulnerabilities compounded over time. The cumulative impact of conflict, displacement, poverty, and natural disasters underscores the gravity of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, necessitating urgent and comprehensive interventions to alleviate the suffering of the affected population. 

Humanitarian efforts in 2023 faced severe hindrances due to access constraints and bureaucratic impediments, with at least 142 arrests and detentions of aid workers reported. However, advocacy persists for expanded access to conflict areas, particularly in regions where bureaucratic hindrances have intensified since the escalation of conflict in late October. Despite these challenges, resilient humanitarian actors used a range of approaches to reach at least 3.2 million people with assistance at least once. It is also likely that actual reach is higher due to underreporting of assistance in conflict areas but this remains difficult to quantify. While the number of people reached is substantial in the circumstances, this reach falls short of the envisioned depth and sustainability due to substantial underfunding, resulting in an unprecedented level of unmet needs (1.8 million people missed), which is expected to persist into 2024. As of 31January 2024, funding against the 2023 Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan had reached $324 million which is only 37 per cent of the requested funding, leaving a significant $563 million funding gap. Urgent attention and a substantial increase in financial support for both humanitarian and development actors are imperative to bridge this gap in 2024.

Analysis of reach Humanitarians reached 65 per cent (3.2 million people) of the annual HRP target set at 5 million individuals, with more than half a million people impacted by cyclone Mocha assisted via a range of modalities. Notably, close to 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) received assistance during the course of the year, reflecting a concerted effort in 2023 to better address the needs of one of these critically vulnerable groups. This is a 33 per cent increase on the number of IDPs reached in 2022 but still means that there were significant gaps in assisting newly displaced people in hard-to-reach areas. Additionally, more than 1.8 million of people reached fall within the category of other crisis-affected people with humanitarian needs, highlighting the diverse challenges faced by the population and humanitarian efforts to support non-displaced populations due to the collapse of basic services and in the absence of large-scale development interventions. This is unsustainable in the longer-term and underscores the need for complimentary development funding to build community resilience.

The data also underscores a specific emphasis on children in the response, with the number of boys and girls reached steadily increasing each quarter, indicating an awareness of the vulnerabilities children face in crisis situations. Furthermore, there is a consistent and commendable effort to reach persons with disabilities, as reflected in the steadily increasing numbers throughout the year. This commitment has led to a more inclusive approach to humanitarian assistance, recognizing and actively addressing the specific challenges confronted by this group, though overall numbers of persons with disabilities reached still remain far behind those targeted for humanitarian assistance. The data also reveals a consistent trend wherein the number of women reached exceeds that of men, showcasing a heightened awareness of gender-specific vulnerabilities.

Thanks to the concentrated efforts of the clusters in enhancing outreach and bolstering partner capacity, the count of partners reporting their progress grew significantly from 222 in 2022 to 269 in 2023. Likewise, the overall number of participating cluster partners (those participating in cluster meetings and activities) increased from 238 in 2022 to 272 in 2023. The majority of partners are thus now regularly sharing their progress on their humanitarian response activities.

Despite formidable access constraints, humanitarian operations demonstrated resilience by expanding into hard-to-reach areas, achieving 64 per cent of those targeted in the Southeast. A notable increase was also seen in people reach figure from 269,600 at the end of 2022 to 536,000 in the close of 2023, reflecting a significant expansion in coverage of assistance. The Northeast and Rakhine experienced a notable scale-up in assistance, with rates of 112 per cent and 88 per cent respectively with the quarter 4 escalation in fighting and Cyclone Mocha likely to be key factors in the increased response effort in these areas. Encouragingly, the clusters covering education, food security, protection, and shelter/NFI/CCCM noted improved results against escalating needs reaching anywhere between 65 per cent up to 90 per cent of their targets by the conclusion of 2023. The Health Cluster reported only 31 per cent reach, although to some extent this is the result of underreporting of this type of activity.