Myanmar: Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2024, Quarter Two Dashboard (Jan - Jun 2024)

OVERVIEW

The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar worsened significantly in the second quarter of 2024 due to escalating armed conflict, small-scale natural hazards, and overall economic and political instability. Millions of people faced severe vulnerabilities, often exacerbated by displacement, acute food insecurity, and restricted access to essential services. Between April and June 2024, intensified clashes in Kachin, northern Shan and Rakhine led to new waves of displacement. By the end of the second quarter, a total of 3.2 million people were displaced from their homes, marking an increase of more than 320,000 compared to the first quarter of this year. Many of the newly displaced people were forced to seek refuge in temporary shelters and informal camps. Access to education, health, and other essential services remained severely restricted in conflict-affected and remote areas, with ongoing school closures and overwhelmed health facilities of particular concern. Protection concerns continued to grow across the country, with increasing reports of landmine and explosive ordnance incidents, premature returns, confiscation of civilian assets, and the threat of forced recruitment.

Humanitarian operations faced formidable challenges. A total of 323 access incidents were reported by various organizations between April and June, including but not limited to military operations and armed activities, administrative restrictions and violence and threats against humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities. Transportation infrastructure in poor condition, damaged or destroyed further complicated access to affected communities.

Despite these obstacles, the humanitarian community remained steadfast in its efforts to ensure support reached affected people. Through innovative approaches and enhanced coordination, aid delivery persisted, reaching more than 2.1 million people in the first half year of 2024, or roughly 40 per cent of those targeted for humanitarian assistance in the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP). This marks a significant increase from the first quarter, when only 18 per cent was reached, effectively doubling the impact within just one quarter. However, this reach falls short of the envisioned depth and sustainability of aid due to substantial underfunding, resulting in an unprecedented level of unmet needs (3.2 million people not reached with assistance). By mid-year, only 12 per cent of the funding required for the HNRP had been received.

With limited resources, humanitarian partners prioritized the most vulnerable groups for assistance, including IDPs, and returned, resettled and locally integrated IDPs. Collectively, partners reached about 58 per cent of the people targeted in these population groups, including over 1.2 million IDPs. However, only 29 per cent of the other crisis-affected people and 16 per cent of the non-displaced stateless people targeted for support were reached. Notable progress was made in the Shelter/NFI/CCCM and WASH clusters, which attained 61 per cent and 48 per cent of their targets, respectively. The percentage of people reached by the Health Cluster was notably low at 7 per cent, highlighting the specific challenges faced by healthcare partners in delivering health services in the current environment. Regionally, the Northeast and Rakhine outperformed others, with the Northeast jumping from 36 per cent in Q1 to 76 per cent in Q2, and Rakhine growing from 28 per cent to 52 per cent. However, the Northwest and Southeast lagged, reaching only 33 per cent and 38 per cent of their targets by Q2 respectively.

Given its current trajectory, the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar is expected to continue to deteriorate in the second half of the year. Escalating conflict across many states and regions is likely to result in increasing displacement, civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. As people struggle to survive in these conditions, humanitarian needs are expected to grow, compounded by limited access to vulnerable populations and the additional risk of floods and landslides during the ongoing monsoon season. Substantial increase in donor support and strengthening of localization efforts will be crucial to provide lifesaving support and protect those at greatest risk.