Highlights
UNICEF and partners have reached over 51,000 displaced and conflict-affected persons, including approximately 20,400 children with safe and sustainable sanitation facilities in Rakhine and Kachin camps and surrounding communities and are empowering displaced persons to manage their own water and sanitation facilities.
UNICEF’s focused advocacy on the release of child soldiers has seen 46 children released from armed groups since January 2016.
Underfunding for the protracted humanitarian crises in Rakhine and Kachin may prevent up to 41,000 emergency-affected primary and pre-primary children from accessing learning opportunities, 22,500 children under 5 from receiving essential micronutrient supplementation and up to 100,000 conflictaffected children from receiving psychosocial support.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
The armed conflict in Kachin and northern Shan states remains complex, with increased military and armed groups presence on the ground; tensions between conflict lines have prompted a considerable increase in the number of incidents and skirmishes over the last six months, resulting in new casualties for both sides. More than half of the IDPs affected by the armed conflict live in areas outside of government control. Although peace negotiations are proceeding, few IDPs have returned to their places of origin due to ongoing insecurity, landmine contamination, and restricted access to basic services and livelihoods.
An estimated 120,000 people remain displaced in Rakhine state as a result of inter-communal violence that erupted between Muslims and Buddhists in 2012. Multiple large and small natural disasters and continued inter-communal tensions in the state since 2012 have limited improvement in the conditions of those impacted by the protracted emergency. Services remain hard to access, livelihood options are limited, market dynamics have shifted, and animosity between groups continues to simmer.
The 2015 floods affected 12 out of Myanmar’s 14 states and regions, impacting an estimated 572,000 children. While the majority of emergency operations ceased in 2015, WASH activities continued through the first quarter of 2016 to ensure essential water and sanitation coverage during the floods recovery period.