UNICEF Myanmar Humanitarian Situation Report No. 3: April 2023

Description: 

"Situation in Numbers 5,600,000 children in need of humanitarian assistance 17,600,000 people in need (HRP 2023) 1,493,100 Internally displaced people after 1 February 2021 (UNHCR) 53,200 People displaced to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 328,000 people living in protracted displacement before February 2021 Highlights UNICEF joined an inter-agency mission to Pinlaung township, Shan State,distributing WASH supplies to more than 4,000 displaced people (1,200 households). 4,100 clean delivery kits and 676 community newborn kits were also distributed to assist the safe delivery and care of babies. UNICEF efforts to support health care service programmes continue to be severely affected by long delays in obtaining official customs clearance of medical supplies and commodities. 302 casualties of landmines and other explosive remnants of war, of which were 21% children, have been reported as of the end of the first quarter of 2023. UNICEF has secured US $19.83 million to date, representing 11.8 per cent of its 2023 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal. Funding Overview and Partnerships UNICEF Myanmar is appealing for US $169.6 million in 2023 to address the needs of 2.8 million people, including an estimated 1.9 million children. During the reporting period, UNICEF secured $19.83 million, or 11.8 per cent of its 2023 HAC appeal. UNICEF has received this generous support from the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Fund for UNICEF, the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO), the Government of Japan, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Government of Norway, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi the vaccine alliance and through UNICEF’s Global Humanitarian Thematic Funding. UNICEF and its partners continue to deliver much-needed services covering nutrition, health, HIV/AIDS, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education, child protection, gender-based violence in emergencies, protection against sexual exploitation and abuse, social protection and cash-based programming, social behaviour change (SBC), accountability to affected populations (AAP), humanitarian leadership and cluster coordination. Although UNICE secured almost 12 per cent of HAC appeal, the funding gap of 88 per cent is severely affecting the capacity to respond. Without these resources, targeted populations, especially children, who need basic social services will not be able to receive assistance. UNICEF continues resource mobilization to have more support and expresses its sincere appreciation to all private and public sector donors for their contributions to supporting the children of Myanmar. Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs Conflict intensified mainly in the southeast, northwest and Kachin states and the total number of people displaced internally is over 1.8 million, including 1.5 million newly displaced after February 2021. More than 50 per cent of new displacements are in the northwest with an estimated 760,300 people displaced in Sagaing region and 200,000 in Magway region where there were reports of frequent and intensified clashes, airstrikes, destruction of property and people being arrested and detained by Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF). The number of children on the move continues to increase, especially in the southeast and northwest. On 11 April, air attacks by the MAF in Kanbulu Township, Sagaing, reportedly killed more than 170 people, including women and children.The security situation remains fragile in the southeast with indiscriminate attacks, escalating armed clashes using heavy artillery and airstrikes. A total of 450,000 are estimated to be displaced across Kayin, Kayah, Mon, Tanintharyi, Bago East and Shan South. In early April, UNICEF joined the inter-agency Mission to Pinlaung township, Shan State and distributed WASH supplies to more than 4,000 people from 1,200 displaced households in 20 camps. In Kachin, increased fighting was reported in Hpakant, Shwegu, Bhamo and Waing Maw townships, where there have been 15,300 newly displaced people since February 2021 and as well as 90,000 long-term displaced people. The basic level of public services provision has been disrupted, with unmet humanitarian needs. In Rakhine, water scarcity and delays in obtaining travel authorizations are the major issues. According to the recent monitoring of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) incidents during the first quarter of 2023, a total of 302 causalities with of which 21 per cent were children have been reported nationwide. This figure represents 77 per cent of total causalities reported in 2022 (390 reported). Humanitarian access continues to deteriorate because of bureaucracy, multiple checkpoints, movement restrictions, conflicts and roadblocks due to armed clashes. The supply chain management in the country continues to face barriers and unprecedented upheavals, mainly for imported supplies earmarked for health and nutrition programmes which are critically important. The Country Office is facing prolonged delays in obtaining Customs clearance for those supplies and shipments have been detained at the border and the airport for two years. There are 77 cases, with a total value of US$4.4 million, pending approval for tax exemption certificates to facilitate Customs clearance. Most of these supplies are medicines/pharmaceuticals, hospital equipment and food supplements for malnourished children. The office is expected to pay heavy charges for their storage, and the use-by dates for some items are expected to expire before the end of the year. In-country logistics are another problem. The increased restrictions to travel are causing delays in distributing supplies to some parts of the country which, in turn, are piling more pressure on the supply chain. The restrictions hinge on the demands from the authorities to be given full control of the supplies. The Country Office sees several risks in complying with this and is yet to solicit the views/feedback from the donors..."

Source/publisher: 

UN Children's Fund (New York) via Reliefweb (New York)

Date of Publication: 

2023-05-12

Date of entry: 

2023-05-12

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Myanmar

Language: 

English

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Format: 

pdf

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456.4 KB

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good