Narinjara News, January19, 2023

The United Nations Office for theCoordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) announced that 1.7 million of the 17.6million people in need of assistance in Myanmar, are living inRakhine State.

UNOCHA’s2023 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) release in last few days, revealed that of Myanmar’s56 million population, 25 million live in poverty, and 17.6 million arein need of humanitarian assistance

https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/myanmar-humanitarian-needs-overview-2023- january-2023

Among newly displaced populations,food (88 percent), shelter (55 percent), protection services (35 percent),and livelihoods (31 percent) are the top needs, it said.

On page 69, it also states that"Extortion remains a widespread protection concern in Rakhine, andis increasingly becoming an issue in other regions and states affected by Conflict.”

On page 21 of the report, it says,“There has been no meaningful progress on the Advisory Commission onRakhine’s recommendations, aimed at improving the welfare of all peoplein Rakhine.”

Regarding climate change andnatural disasters, the report states on page (25) that “ Cyclonesand major storms are expected to become more intense as ocean temperaturesincrease, with residents of Rakhine anticipated to have a higher likelihood ofbeing affected.”

“ A survey of 58 local CSOs working directly with affectedcommunities across Myanmar further underscore these issues." on page 65highlights the following issues: The top three needs shared with them bythe communities they serve are livelihoods, access to food, and protectionservices, including safe spaces.”

“Livelihoods and education supportis the most reported need in Rakhine; food and protection services are most needed inKayin; and in Kachin, access to livelihoods is the most frequently reported need.”

“Among newly displacedpopulations, CSOs identified food (88 per cent), shelter (55 per cent),protection services (35 per cent), and livelihoods (31 per cent) as the top needs.”

Extortion (page 69 of the report)states that “Extortion remains a widespread protection issue inRakhine State and is a growing problem in other regions and states affected by theconflict.

According to the ProtectionIncident Monitoring System (PIMS), some 94 percent of reported extortionincidents were from Rakhine, while others occurred across the Northeast and Southeast,however this may be swayed by the more established humanitarian monitoring presence inRakhine. 

However this measure may not befully representative of relative risk across the country. IDPs areclearly indicated as being most vulnerable to this risk. The Rakhine issue is specificallymentioned 109 times in the report.