UNICEF has expressed its concern for Myanmar children in the wake of Cyclone Mocha that damaged homes, clinics and schools and worsened the plight of children who typically eat poorly at the best of times.
As schools reopen amid the devastation caused by Cyclone Mocha, more than 300,000 learners require educational support, and an estimated 1,246 schools are heavily damaged across Rakhine and the Northwest, UNICEF reports.
With the compounding effects of the conflict and the impact of the cyclone, the humanitarian community is concerned about increasing reports of psychosocial distress among the affected population as worsening living conditions heighten anxiety due to the lack of access to basic services.
UNICEF and partners delivered humanitarian WASH services and supplies to 233,848 individuals, 1,013 of them with disabilities and continues to disinfect water sources, rehabilitate sanitation facilities, and dewater the rainwater harvesting ponds flooded with seawater during the cyclone.
During the reporting period, UNICEF and partners provided critical primary health care services to more than 98,000 people, reaching almost 4,000 children aged 9-18 months with the measles vaccine.
With the resumption of routine immunization across the country, UNICEF and partners are supporting catch-up vaccination for 1.6 million children who missed their doses.
Following the devastation caused by Cyclone Mocha in mid-May, UNICEF updated its 2023 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal to account for the increase in the number of people needing assistance and an additional US $48.4 million for the cyclone response. UNICEF now appeals for $217.93 million to support 3.7 million people, including 2.3 million children. To date, UNICEF has secured $26.72 million, or 12.3 per cent – leaving a funding gap severely affecting our capacity to respond. The lack of funds prevents critical services from reaching affected populations, especially children. UNICEF continues to mobilize resources and is grateful to private and public sector donors for their support to the children of Myanmar. UNICEF received generous support from the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the United States Agency for International Development, the United States Fund for UNICEF, the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission, the Government of Japan, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Government of Canada, the Government
of Norway, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the World Health Organization, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF’s Global Humanitarian Thematic Funding. UNICEF and partners continue to deliver much-needed services in 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, accountability to affected populations (AAP), and humanitarian leadership and cluster coordination.
One of the strongest cyclones ever recorded in Myanmar, Mocha made landfall in Rakhine State on 14 May 2023, leaving a trail of destruction throughout Chin, Sagaing, Magway, and Kachin. The humanitarian community reported multiple deaths and injuries and significant damage to people’s homes, internally displaced persons ’shelters, and public infrastructure, including water supplies, health facilities, schools, electricity, banks, roads and bridges, and religious buildings. The cyclone exacerbated already severe and deteriorating humanitarian and human rights crises for communities in the affected regions. An estimated 3.4 million people live in the areas most impacted and have already been hit hard by years of conflict and deprivation. Access of children and their families to essential services such as health care, protection, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, and education is severely constrained. These challenges threaten children's survival, development, safety and well-being, and girls and children with disabilities are at greater risk of adverse outcomes following any disaster.
Telecommunication and electricity have slowly been restored in some parts of Rakhine State, with most parts still lacking power, and supply is expected to be fully restored by mid-July. Access to humanitarian response to the affected areas remains challenging, as the approval of travel authorization for the movement of staff and supplies across Rakhine is still being determined. Around 17.6 million people already needed humanitarian assistance before Cyclone Mocha, including 4.5 million in severe conditions, mainly in conflict-affected rural areas. The humanitarian community estimates that 500,000 more individuals in the five states and regions need humanitarian assistance following the cyclone.
The widespread conflict has further deteriorated in 2023. Increased fighting has occurred nationwide, with significant intensification mainly in the Southeast, Northwest, and Kachin State. Over 1.8 million people are internally displaced, including 1.5 million newly displaced after February 2021. Of these, over 1.2 million internally displaced persons lived in the areas impacted by the cyclone. Communities in Sagaing Region, hardest hit by the conflict with nearly 773,300 displaced,
suffered additional trauma. Cyclone Mocha further endangered about 220,000 people living in protracted displacement in Rakhine and the highly vulnerable non-displaced populations, especially 417,000 stateless Rohingyas and communities affected by conflict, insecurity and rising poverty.
The continuing armed conflict between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and local forces has worsened the overall situation in the Southeast. In the Northwest, increased clashes between the MAF and local armed groups were reported in Chin, and ongoing fighting was reported in Sagaing, disrupting people’s movement and access to services.
Various armed groups are reported to be forcibly recruiting young people in Northern Shan State, specifically in Kyaukme, Hsipaw, and Nawnghkio townships. In June alone, several armed clashes were reported in areas in the townships of Lashio, Kutkai, and Namhsan. In Kayah State, heavy fighting in Mese occurred in mid-May, displacing an additional 4,800 persons – on top of the 98,000 displaced since 2021.
An analysis carried out by the Mine Action AoR team found that 60 per cent of the reported landmine incidents in the first quarter of 2023 happened in areas affected by Cyclone Mocha, highlighting the high risks of landmines and unexploded ordnance contamination, which pose a significant threat to communities and delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Even before the flooding caused by Cyclone Mocha, high contamination levels injured and killed people daily. Approximately 90 per cent of the incidents are being reported from the red zone, where winds of over 120 kph were recorded. Landmine contamination surveys also indicate that almost 300 villages are confirmed dangerous areas or suspected dangerous areas.
