UNICEF Myanmar Humanitarian Situation Report No. 1 (Mid-Year), January-June 2026

Highlights

• Myanmar’s humanitarian situation continued to deteriorate over the reporting period. Ongoing conflict and displacement, compounded by the fuel crisis and economic decline, continued to drive acute needs, with 16.2 million people, including 4.9 million children, requiring humanitarian assistance. Nearly 3.8 million people were internally displaced, as of June 2026.
• Landmine incidents, displacement and protection risks continued to escalate, while seasonal flooding and disease risks further increased vulnerabilities among affected populations.
• Despite escalating humanitarian needs and access constraints, UNICEF and partners reached 326,503 people with primary health care, 472,742 children with education support, 487,036 people with MHPSS services, and 315,169 people with critical WASH supplies during the first half of 2026.
• UNICEF appealed for US$267.2 million to address the needs of 3.3 million people in 2026. By mid-2026, the funding level stood at US$95.4 million, with a gap of US$171.7 million (64 per cent).

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

The humanitarian situation in Myanmar continued to deteriorate with ongoing conflict, recurrent natural hazards, and economic decline in 2026. Ongoing hostilities, including airstrikes, resulted in widespread displacement and civilian casualties.1 The humanitarian situation remained acute, with 16.2 million people, including 4.9 million children, in need of humanitarian assistance.2 By the end of June 2026, nearly 3.8 million people were internally displaced3 - an increase of 154,400 newly displaced since the end of 2025 - while an additional 1.6 million people were refugees and asylum seekers in neighbouring countries.

The humanitarian situation was aggravated by recurrent natural hazards and seasonal climatic shocks. Communities already affected by conflict and displacement faced acute water shortages during the dry season, while the monsoon season heightened the risk of flooding, landslides, and outbreaks of water-borne diseases. These hazards further strained limited coping capacities and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities. In the last week of June 2026, heavy rains caused flooding in five townships in Kachin State, disrupting livelihoods and access to essential services in affected communities.

The spillover effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict and associated disruptions to global energy markets contributed to rising fuel prices, fuel shortages, and increased transportation costs. According to WFP market monitoring, the average food basket cost in June was estimated to be 20 per cent higher than in February 2026, with significant price increases reported in Rakhine and Magway due to transport disruption and reduced market availability.5 If these conditions persist, an estimated 3.5–5 million additional people could become food insecure, adding to the 12.4 million people already facing food insecurity nationwide. Rising poverty is compounding these pressures, with growing numbers of families adopting negative coping strategies, including reduced food consumption, child labour and early marriage. These overlapping shocks are compounding humanitarian needs and increasing vulnerabilities among vulnerable communities with limited access to markets, livelihoods, and basic services.

During the first half of 2026, a total of 327 landmine and explosive ordnance (EO) incidents resulting in 487 civilian casualties were reported. Of these casualties, 113 were children (23 per cent).7 This was an increase over the second quarter of 2025, when there were 229 incidents with 357 casualties reported, of whom 33 were children (27 per cent).

Access to basic health services was still critically constrained, particularly in Rakhine, Kayah, and Sagaing, where close to half of the population faces serious access challenges. Overcrowded living conditions, inadequate WASH services, and limited access to basic health care continued to elevate the risk of water‑borne and water‑related diseases. Cases of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) and skin infections were reported in Kachin, Sagaing, Mandalay, Chin and Rakhine. Vaccination coverage remained low, with 1.5 million children under five missing basic vaccinations since 2018, resulting in increased risk of vaccine-preventable disease.

Increasing displacement continued to disrupt children’s access to education, with an estimated 3.4 million children in urgent need of educational support. Conflict-affected areas, including Sagaing, Magway, Chin, Kachin, Shan, Kayah, Kayin, Tanintharyi, and Rakhine faced increasing demand for safe and continuous learning opportunities for displaced and out-of-school children. Damage to education infrastructure, inadequate WASH facilities, shortages of learning materials, and limited availability of qualified educators persisted in displacement‑affected and hard‑to‑reach areas. Funding gaps, economic pressures, and rising costs increased drop-out risks, particularly among adolescents, while over‑age and conflict‑affected children faced continued barriers to structured learning pathways and transition to formal education, due to the lack of recognized accreditation. This highlights the urgent need for expanded learning pathways, safe learning spaces, individual learning materials, and mental health and psychological support (MHPSS).

Kachin State continued to face a worsening humanitarian crisis with prolonged armed conflict, widespread displacement, economic collapse, deteriorating livelihoods, and climate shocks. The intensified conflict around Bhamo and Hpakant area in early 2026 and renewed clashes in Shwegu township caused sustained displacement, with over 228,000 people displaced internally during the reporting period, including the newly displaced population from the Sagaing region.

Ongoing armed clashes, intensified military operations and airstrikes severely impacted civilians in the northwest, leading to large-scale displacement and exposing children and women to heightened protection risks. Magway region was among the hardest-hit areas, with more than 100,000 people displaced across Myaing, Pakokku, Pauk and Saw townships since mid-May. Many families in the northwest region had been displaced multiple times and were sheltering in monasteries or makeshift structures, with an urgent need for shelter, non-food items, hygiene kits, lighting, and educational supplies. During the reporting period, over 1.8 million people remained internally displaced in the northwest region.