The World Food Programme (WFP) is urgently calling for more humanitarian support in Rakhine State, where a deadly combination of conflict, blockades, and funding cuts is driving a dramatic rise in hunger and malnutrition.
In central Rakhine, the number of families not able to afford to meet basic food needs has reached 57 percent, up from 33 percent in December 2024. While these findings suggest alarming levels of food insecurity, indicating a worsening of the acute malnutrition situation in central Rakhine, it is expected that the situation in northern Rakhine is much worse due to active conflict and access issues.
Reports from WFP's Community Feedback Mechanism reveal an alarming rise in distress signals. Families are being forced to take desperate measures to survive: rising debt, begging, domestic violence, school drop-outs, social tensions, and even human trafficking.
"People are trapped in a vicious cycle; cut off by conflict, stripped of livelihoods, and left with no humanitarian safety net," said Michael Dunford, WFP Representative and Country Director in Myanmar. "We are hearing heartbreaking stories of children crying from hunger and mothers skipping meals. Families are doing everything they can, but they cannot survive this alone."
The hunger crisis is being driven by prolonged conflict, severe movement restrictions, soaring food prices and the reduction of support due to a significant decrease in humanitarian funding. In April 2025, WFP was forced to cut lifesaving support to over one million people across Myanmar, due to funding shortfalls.
Despite dwindling resources, WFP is working to resume limited lifesaving support in the worst-hit areas. WFP is urgently calling on the international community to step up with increased humanitarian funding, and for authorities on the ground to allow unimpeded humanitarian access. WFP requires USD 30 million to assist 270,000 people in Rakhine for the next six months.
"Without urgent action, this crisis will spiral into a full-blown disaster," said Dunford. "The world must not look away."
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