HIGHLIGHTS
Urgently needed shelter upgrades are underway in Rakhine camps which still house 120,000 internally displaced people four years after the outbreak of violence.
Humanitarian organisations face access challenges five years after the conflict in Kachin and northern Shan was reignited.
Fresh fighting has displaced thousands of people in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine.
IDPs tell of their struggle to educate their children in Kachin’s camps.
The challenges of accessing health care in Rakhine.
Humanitarian organizations have been working to increase the resilience of communities where women and children are vulnerable to protection risks due to annual flooding.
18-strong Myanmar delegation joins 9000 participants at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul.
Urgent IDP shelter repairs underway in Rakhine
More than a million dollars still needed for accommodation improvements
Urgently needed shelter upgrades are underway in Rakhine camps which are still home to approximately 120,000 internally displaced people four years after the outbreak of violence in 2012. Successive rainy seasons and floods, as well as Cyclone Komen in 2015, have taken a toll on these shelters which were originally only built to last a maximum of three years. Many structures are now at the end of their lifespan. In May, the shelter situation was further compounded by a fire which swept through Baw Du Pha 2 camp in rural Sittwe destroying 49 long houses and affecting around 2,000 people. The Rakhine State Government moved quickly to respond and rebuild all of the damaged long houses in the camp. But across other camps in the state, shelter needs remain acute. A joint assessment conducted by the Rakhine State Government and humanitarian partners in March 2016 in priority camps of Sittwe, Pauktaw and Myebon townships indicated an urgent need for major renovations to more than 60 per cent of the long-houses in the Sittwe camps and full rehabilitation of more than 80 per cent of three assessed camps in Pauktaw. Significant renovation work was also needed in one large camp that contains 89 long-houses in Myebon Township.
In response, the international community committed more than US$2.5 million in assistance to address chronic needs in 11 camps in Sittwe, three in Pauktaw and one in Myebon which are collectively home to more than 95,000 displaced people. The Shelter Cluster Lead, UNHCR, initially committed US$1.1 million and the Lutheran World Federation invested US$300,000 towards the work. In June, an additional US$1 million was made available through the Myanmar Humanitarian Fund and the Danish Refugee Council further supported these efforts with another US$270,000 in funding. Despite these efforts, made possible by the generosity of Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom, there are still chronic needs remaining for more than 30,000 people in camps across Sittwe, Puaktaw, Kyauktaw, Kyaukphyu, Ramree and Rathedaung. Estimates suggest this work could cost an additional US$1.5 million and the Shelter Cluster is speaking to relevant authorities in Nay Pyi Taw to explore the Government’s capacity to cover this remaining gap. As the Rakhine State Government’s quick response to the fire in Baw Du Pha 2 camp illustrated, its capacity to address shelter needs is impressive. As the Shelter Cluster Lead, UNHCR continues to advocate for this gap to be addressed as an urgent priority.