Myanmar Appeal
Humanitarian Action for Children
UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal helps support the agency’s work as it provides conflict- and disaster-affected children with access to water, sanitation, nutrition, education, health and protection services. Return to main appeal page.
Myanmar snapshot
Appeal highlights
- The situation of children has worsened and remains a significant concern in Myanmar, with ongoing and escalating conflict leading to multiple displacements and the deterioration of social services in conflict-affected communities. Cyclone Mocha, which hit in May 2023, caused widespread destruction in five states, and seasonal monsoons negatively impacted already vulnerable communities. More than 18.6 million people, including 6 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance.
- UNICEF's humanitarian strategy focuses on working with local civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations and other United Nations agencies to broaden the humanitarian response for children in all conflict-affected states and regions.
- For 2024, UNICEF is appealing for $208.3 million to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to 3.1 million people, including 2.1 million children. UNICEF aims to reach 850,000 people with critical WASH supplies; 350,000 children and women with primary health care services; and more than 890,000 children with education.
Key planned targets
418,000 children screened for wasting
1.7 million people with safe and accessible channels to report sexual exploitation and abuse
890,360 children accessing formal or non-formal education, including early learning
850,000 people reached with critical WASH supplies
Funding requirements for 2024
Country needs and strategy
Humanitarian needs
The worsening situation of children remains a significant concern in Myanmar, with ongoing and escalating conflict leading to multiple displacements and the deterioration of social services in conflict-affected communities. Nearly 2 million people were displaced internally as of the end of October 2023, including 306,200 people who had been displaced prior to the military takeover in February 2021. Adding to this, in 2023, Cyclone Mocha caused widespread destruction in five states, and seasonal monsoons negatively impacted already vulnerable communities. Altogether, more than 18.6 million people, including 6 million children, require humanitarian assistance.
Grave child rights violations persist, mainly due to the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons, airstrikes, explosive ordnance and recruitment and use of children. Attacks on schools and hospitals continue at alarming levels. Approximately 4.5 million children need education support because of disruption to safe learning opportunities. Women and children face significant risks of violence, including gender-based violence, exploitation and abuse. Children and adults with disabilities are especially vulnerable and have limited access to services that meet their disability-specific needs.
A deteriorating economic situation has limited livelihood opportunities, further worsening the plight of the most vulnerable people. More than 55 per cent of children live in poverty, while three quarters of displaced households’ basic needs are unmet.
Access to water and life-saving services has deteriorated: a significant number of children are still not able to access basic health and nutrition interventions due to insecurity and other forms of restriction. The under-five mortality rate of 42 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022 remains the highest in the region, and up to 75 per cent of children aged 6–23 months do not eat a minimum acceptable diet. Although immunization coverage increased to approximately 70 per cent in 2022 from 37 per cent in 2021, an estimated 1 million children missed basic vaccines from 2018 to 2022.
Camp closures and the forced return or relocation of displaced people, particularly in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine States pose protection risks for children. Armed clashes, widespread presence of landmines and unexploded ordinance and a lack of basic services remain obstacles to return. And the proposed Rohingya repatriation from Bangladesh in the absence of conditions for voluntary and safe returns will present further protection concerns in 2024.
Military operations, ongoing hostilities and administrative constraints (e.g., travel authorization-related delays and movement restrictions) impede access of humanitarian actors to people in need, impacting the timely delivery of programme supplies. The politicization of humanitarian assistance compounds this challenge.
UNICEF’s strategy
UNICEF will implement evidence- and experience-based strategies to broaden the humanitarian response for children through its leadership roles in five inter-agency clusters and areas of responsibility. UNICEF will work with other United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations to ensure that humanitarian strategies reflect the inter-agency Humanitarian Needs Overview and Humanitarian Response Plan for 2024. It will also complement the transitional cooperation framework 2024–2025, which will strengthen the humanitarian–development–peace nexus approach, focusing on localization and accountability to affected populations. UNICEF will maintain its nationwide focus in 2024, maximizing the coverage of its seven field offices in all conflict-affected states and regions.
Protection will remain central to UNICEF's response in Myanmar; a holistic approach will provide integrated packages of life-saving child protections services. UNICEF, as part of the country task force on monitoring and reporting, will continue to build the capacity to monitor, report and respond to grave violations against children in armed conflict. UNICEF will also continue its dialogue with parties to conflict to prevent and address grave violations.
UNICEF will provide life-saving WASH services and supplies to the affected population through local partnerships. Local procurement, direct distribution and cash transfer modalities will maximize reach to affected populations.
UNICEF will support the continued access of crisis-affected children to safe learning through complementary learning opportunities tailored to school-age children, including pre-primary school aged children, and for those who were out of the formal system even before the current crises. This includes access to safe temporary learning spaces, critical education supplies and quality teaching and learning materials and support for educators.
UNICEF will deliver life-saving, high-impact maternal, newborn and child health interventions using a primary health care platform, with interventions jointly delivered, managed and integrated with nutrition, WASH and child protection sectors. Up to 1 million children will be reached with vaccination services.
UNICEF will also strengthen existing community feedback mechanisms, focusing on the most marginalized communities, as a way to inform interventions and ensure accountability to affected populations. Capacity building of staff and volunteers on principles, integration and standard reporting for such accountability will continue. Evidence generation will leverage digital innovations and social media channels to ensure two-way communication. UNICEF has set up a Disability Management Information System and is expanding disability screening and identification processes in collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities and community networks. UNICEF will continue to integrate initiatives to ensure protection from sexual exploitation and abuse into programmes and partnerships.
Programme targets
Find out more about UNICEF's work
Highlights
Humanitarian Action is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate to realize the rights of every child. This edition of Humanitarian Action for Children – UNICEF’s annual humanitarian fundraising appeal – describes the ongoing crises affecting children in Myanmar; the strategies that we are using to respond to these situations; and the donor support that is essential in this response.