Food insecurity in Myanmar has risen sharply since the military coup in February 2021, says the World Food Programme (WFP) in a recent report.

As WFP reports, the rise is driven by the ongoing political crisis, poverty, displacement, and the economic fallout from COVID-19 pandemic measures.

Needs are now widespread, from areas affected by conflict in border regions where humanitarian action has been focused for years, to impoverished urban areas where families have seen jobs vanish, incomes dry up, and destitution. In this context, WFP continued to deliver life-saving assistance, and ramped up its operations to assist 2.4 million people in 2021, up from 1 million in 2020.

In 2022, the agency plans to double the size and scope of its programme, targeting 4 million people. The number is likely to increase as the year progresses.

According to WFP, this is the most acute humanitarian crisis the country has faced since Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Aid operations, however, remain critically underfunded.

Donations covered two thirds of the needs arising in 2021, allowing the agency to reach 2.4 million people. But WFP needs $62.4 million in the coming six months.

Source: UN News