UNICEF Myanmar Humanitarian Situation Report No. 7

Highlights

• Ongoing conflict continues to lead to displacement. Nearly two million people are internally displaced, of whom more than 1.6 million have been displaced since 2021.

• UNICEF supported for 26,264 children to access to formal and non-formal education, including early learning.

• UNICEF reached 297,943 affected people with access to clean water for drinking and domestic purposes by the end of September.

• The 85 per cent funding gap against the 2023 HAC requirement is severely affecting UNICEF’s capacity to respond to the multisectoral needs of targeted populations, especially children in Myanmar.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

As of September 2023, the total number of internally displaced persons has risen to more than 1.9 million out of a total population of 56 million. More than 1.6 million people have been displaced since February 2021, with more than 50 per cent of them, an estimated 820,800 people, from Sagaing region. Magway region has also been badly affected, with 218,900 people displaced and impacted by regular heavy fighting, air strikes and artillery shelling. An estimated 15,000 people have been displaced and are facing food shortages due to air strikes in Kamma sub township in Magway; humanitarian access is not possible due to security concerns and military operations. In many parts of the country, particularly the northwest, the movement of essential goods and humanitarian access is also still being hampered.

The southeast has the second largest number of displaced populations after the northwest with 545,000 internally displaced persons2. Intensified armed conflicts continue in Myawaddy, Kyarinseikkyi, Kawkareik and Hpa-pun, with 8,300 people taking refuge at the Thailand-Myanmar border.

In Kachin State, the intensification of armed conflicts and heavy military deployments is mainly in the south and southwest. Mines and unexploded ordnance also continue to pose a significant threat to children, the community, and humanitarian workers.

In northern Shan, armed conflicts between the Myanmar Armed Forces and various armed groups in Nawnghkio, Kutkai, Muse and Namhkan townships are continuing to grow, causing people from Muse township to be displaced twice in September.

Fighting in Kayah State increased, also resulting in increased displacement, with the number of internally displaced persons reaching 100,500 as of 18 September. Approximately 800 people, including those who had returned from the Thailand border in mid-September and who are living in the camps in Maesae township, Kayah State are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, which humanitarian access is not possible at the moment.