Famine looming in Myanmar's Rakhine state: UN


File photo of Rohingya refugees near Taungpyolatyar village, Maung Daw, northern Rakhine State, Myanmar taken in 2018. - AP

UNITED NATIONS: Myanmar's conflict-torn Rakhine state is heading toward famine, the United Nations warned on Thursday (Nov 7), as the country's civil war squeezes commerce and agricultural production.

"Rakhine's economy has stopped functioning," a new report from the UN Development Programme said, projecting "famine conditions by mid-2025" if current levels of food insecurity are left unaddressed.

Some two million people are at risk of starvation, it said.

Amid the fighting roiling the country, international and domestic trade routes leading into the already impoverished state have been closed, leaving the entrance of aid and goods severely restricted.

In addition to intense fighting, people in Rakhine are facing "absence of incomes, hyperinflation (and) significantly reduced domestic food production," the UNDP report warned.

Myanmar has been racked by conflict between the military and various armed groups opposed to its rule since the ruling junta ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February 2021.

Clashes have rocked western Rakhine since the Arakan Army (AA) attacked security forces in November 2023, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since the junta's 2021 coup.

With the farming economy in crisis, the UNDP predicted local food production would only cover 20 per cent of the state's needs by March or April.

Internal rice production is "plummeting," it said, due to "a lack of seeds, fertilizers (and) severe weather conditions."

Some 97,000 tons of rice are set to be cultivated in Rakhine this year, compared to 282,000 tons last year, according to the UNDP.

A "steep rise" in internally displaced people, meanwhile, means many fields are unable to be worked.

According to UN figures, Rakhine state recorded more than 500,000 displaced people in August, compared to just under 200,000 in October 2023.

Facing particular risk are populations including members of the long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority and displaced people. - AFP

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Myanmar , UN , refugees , famine

   

Next In Aseanplus News

Kedah MB must explain why BZI pulled out of RM40bil Langkawi project, says Sg Petani MP
Children suffer as schools go online in polluted and worsening air conditions in Delhi
Pahang exceeds RM1bil in revenue collection for a third straight year
Jaiswal slams unbeaten 90 as India seize control against Australia; Rahul chips in stylish 62
Hong Kong seniors celebrate life with mass marriage vow renewal
Asean News Headlines at 10pm on Saturday (Nov 23, 2024)
Rallying-Neuville fights back in Japan to close on first world title
Vietjet launches Hanoi-Kuala Lumpur route, aims to boost Asean connectivity
Singaporean man nabbed for allegedly faking bomb threat at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok
After gastroscopy went wrong, Singaporean lies in vegetative state in S. Korea, waiting to go home

Others Also Read