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Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Following the earthquakes that struck Myanmar on 28 March, more than 9 million people (including 2.7 million children) are estimated to be living in the worst affected 58 townships across Bago East, Kayin, Magway, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw, Shan South, and Sagaing. Of these, 6.3 million people are estimated to be in urgent need of assistance and protection – over two-thirds of whom were already in a dire humanitarian situation before the earthquakes due to the ongoing conflict, previous climate-related disasters, displacement and economic hardship.
According to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), 3,700 deaths have been reported, 4,800 people injured and 129 people remain missing. Frequent strong aftershocks and unseasonal rains continue to cause additional damage to unstable buildings, roads and dams/levees, and have made living conditions for those in makeshift shelters and temporary camps even worse. These conditions, combined with the extreme heat being experienced in central Myanmar, and limited access to healthcare and safe water and sanitation facilities, are creating significant health risks, particularly for children and pregnant and lactating women. Malnutrition remains an ongoing concern, especially for children under five as well as pregnant and lactating women. Disruptions to supply chains and services have affected the availability of life-saving nutrition support, further compounded by loss of livelihoods by affected communities.
Damage to water systems has left communities without safe drinking water forcing communities and vulnerable populations to rely on unsafe water sources. Interagency assessments indicate that at least 64,000 latrines have been destroyed and around 37% of water facilities have been damaged due to the earthquakes. The most severely affected region is Sagaing, where only a quarter of the respondents reported access to sufficient latrines and less than 20 per cent had access to safe drinking water. In Kayah State, open defecation is reported to be widely practiced. These statistics point to a serious gap in access to safe water and sanitation, particularly in urban, peri-urban and displacement settings. Scaling up emergency and semi-permanent sanitation facilities is a priority to meet immediate needs and reduce the risk of disease outbreaks.
Of the 1,656 schools assessed in 43 affected townships, half were reported to be damaged while 279 were either destroyed or rendered non-functional. With the school year resuming in early June, the reopening of schools will require debris clearance, setting up temporary learning spaces (in the absence of functional schools/classrooms), repairs to classrooms, and restoring access to clean water, functioning toilets, and basic hygiene facilities.
The earthquakes have sharply intensified risks of violence, exploitation, and abuse, especially for women and girls staying in overcrowded shelters, where privacy and safety are limited. Unaccompanied and separated children remain at substantial risk of exploitation, including trafficking and are experiencing heightened psychosocial distress. Although communities are providing ad hoc temporary alternative care, there is an urgent need to scale up family tracing, and reunification and provision of alternative family-based care where families cannot be traced or have died in the earthquakes. As a result of fear from the earthquakes and the continued aftershocks, coupled with uncertainty about the future, children are continually reported to face psychosocial distress.