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Humanitarian Action for Children 2018 - Myanmar

Countries
Myanmar
Sources
UNICEF
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Myanmar

Since late August, more than 655,000 Muslims have fled Myanmar's Rakhine State into Bangladesh following fighting between government military forces and Muslims, and widespread violence, death and destruction have been reported. Although UNICEF staff have received travel authorization for central and northern Rakhine, restrictions on humanitarian access and needs assessment remain. More than 690,000 people in Rakhine —including 255,300 children, 400,000 stateless Muslims, 160,000 non-displaced people and 128,000 internally displaced persons —require assistance. Over 841,000 people are in need of water for drinking, cooking and hygiene purposes. New displacements in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states have added to the existing caseload of internally displaced persons, some of whom have been displaced since 2011. More than 166,000 displaced and conflict-affected people, including 61,500 children, require humanitarian support in Kachin and Shan states, where the protracted conflict continued in 2017, with increased aerial attacks and landmines causing displacement and civilian casualties. Access to communities, particularly those in and around key areas, remains constrained. Myanmar is also extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, including floods and cyclones, including in Rakhine State.

Humanitarian strategy

UNICEF is striving to meet the humanitarian needs of crisis-affected and displaced children, women and men across parts of Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states in partnership with the Government of Myanmar and local and international partners. In Rakhine, UNICEF will provide humanitarian assistance to a large number of nondisplaced stateless Muslims who are suffering increased communal tensions and movement restrictions. UNICEF will coordinate with partners to provide critical life-saving and life-sustaining services in child protection, education, health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations. UNICEF will expand assistance to children under 5 years with severe acute malnutrition (SAM); reach women and children with health care services; support community-based solutions for access to safe and sufficient water and appropriate sanitation facilities; mitigate child protection risks through psychosocial support in safe community spaces; provide mine-risk and life-skills education; and increase access to schooling for children aged 3 to 17 years through formal and non-formal learning opportunities and temporary learning spaces. UNICEF will also continue to lead the WASH cluster, the nutrition sector and the child protection sub-sector and co-lead the education sector.

Results from 2017

As of 31 October 2017, UNICEF had raised US$5.8 million against the US$25.1 million appeal. Another US$12.2 million was available from previous years, including US$7 million for the reconstruction of 47 schools in Rakhine. Despite low funding and restricted access, UNICEF and partners still achieved significant results. In Rakhine, 55 percent of targeted children were treated for SAM. Service disruptions affected UNICEF's ability to reach all children in need. Low achievement against the measles vaccination target was due to the Government's focus on other major vaccination campaigns. Ultimately, 11,600 children were reached (39 per cent of the target). UNICEF and partners expanded WASH facilities and services for more than 59,000 people in need. More than double the targeted number of children received child protection case management services due to increasing needs and the strengthened case management system. UNICEF also facilitated the release of 49 children from the armed forces in 2017. Furthermore, over 17,900 children living in camps for internally displaced persons and host communities gained access to learning opportunities. UNICEF also continued to focus on building the technical capacities of government counterparts and national non-governmental organizations.