Myanmar junta intimidates aid groups in effort to hide hunger crisis
Myanmar’s military junta has actively suppressed information about the country’s escalating hunger crisis by pressuring aid organizations and researchers to withhold data.
Over the past two years, junta officials have repeatedly warned senior humanitarian workers against publishing findings that highlight widespread food insecurity, sources familiar with the situation revealed.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global authority on hunger monitoring, recently removed its Myanmar data from its website's global hunger map. This decision was made to protect the safety of researchers involved in assessing the country’s dire food situation.
To further safeguard analysts, the IPC chose not to release three in-depth reports that documented Myanmar’s worsening food crisis. Once known as Southeast Asia’s 'rice bowl,' the nation now faces one of the world's most severe hunger emergencies.
Reuters interviewed over 30 individuals, including aid workers, researchers, diplomats, and United Nations officials, about the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Most spoke anonymously, citing fears of retaliation from the junta. Myanmar has been in chaos since a military coup in 2021 overthrew its democratically elected government, sparking widespread protests and armed resistance.
A confidential IPC report dated November 5, reviewed by Reuters, estimated that as of September and October this year, approximately 14.4 million people—or about a quarter of Myanmar’s population—were suffering from acute food insecurity. This level of deprivation poses a direct threat to lives and livelihoods. The report also projected that by mid-2024, the number of people facing acute food insecurity could rise to 15 million.
.png "Advertisement")
