Children dying in Myanmar because of malnutrition: UN

By Lindsay Murdoch
Updated May 25 2017 - 12:38am, first published 12:34am
Rai Seng, 13, works for 4,000 kyat (US$3) per day building and repairing roads, along the Myitkyina-Bhamo, Kachin State, Myanmar, Friday 31 March 2017.

In 2017, working with the Government of Myanmar, UNICEF will strive to meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable internally displaced children. Myanmar is experiencing three protracted humanitarian crises, each with its own set of complex underlying factors. In Rakhine State, inter-communal violence that erupted in 2012 continues to plague 120,000 internally displaced people spread across 40 camps or informal sites, as well as host communities. Eighty per cent of the displaced are women and children. In Kachin State, armed conflict that reignited in 2011 continues to impact communities caught in the crossfire between an ethnic armed group and the Myanmar army. Nearly 87,000 people remain displaced as a result, including 40 per cent who are in areas outside of government control. An additional 11,000 people remain displaced in northern Shan State, where a similar conflict broke out in 2011. Compounding the protracted crises are issues related to religious and/or ethnic discrimination, exploitation, chronic poverty, vulnerability to natural disasters, statelessness, trafficking and humanitarian access. In addition to the humanitarian crises in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states, Myanmar is impacted by humanitarian situations in other parts of the country, including natural disasters, health emergencies and small-scale displacements. unicef
Rai Seng, 13, works for 4,000 kyat (US$3) per day building and repairing roads, along the Myitkyina-Bhamo, Kachin State, Myanmar, Friday 31 March 2017. In 2017, working with the Government of Myanmar, UNICEF will strive to meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable internally displaced children. Myanmar is experiencing three protracted humanitarian crises, each with its own set of complex underlying factors. In Rakhine State, inter-communal violence that erupted in 2012 continues to plague 120,000 internally displaced people spread across 40 camps or informal sites, as well as host communities. Eighty per cent of the displaced are women and children. In Kachin State, armed conflict that reignited in 2011 continues to impact communities caught in the crossfire between an ethnic armed group and the Myanmar army. Nearly 87,000 people remain displaced as a result, including 40 per cent who are in areas outside of government control. An additional 11,000 people remain displaced in northern Shan State, where a similar conflict broke out in 2011. Compounding the protracted crises are issues related to religious and/or ethnic discrimination, exploitation, chronic poverty, vulnerability to natural disasters, statelessness, trafficking and humanitarian access. In addition to the humanitarian crises in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states, Myanmar is impacted by humanitarian situations in other parts of the country, including natural disasters, health emergencies and small-scale displacements. unicef

Bangkok: The United Nations children's agency UNICEF has revealed that as many as 150 children under five are dying each day in Myanmar, while 30 per cent suffer from moderate or severe malnutrition.

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