Myanmar among countries most likely to face escalating humanitarian crises in 2025

By Admin 12 Dec 2024

DMG Newsroom
12 December 2024, Sittwe

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) unveiled its annual Emergency Watchlist on December 11, highlighting the 20 countries most likely to face escalating humanitarian crises next year, with Myanmar ranked third.

The top five potential crisis hot spots are Sudan, occupied Palestinian territory, Myanmar, Syria and South Sudan, the IRC said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Third on the list, Myanmar has seen armed groups unite and advance rapidly across the country, causing nearly 900,000 people to flee their homes — a 37% increase from 2023,” said the IRC statement.

“Myanmar is among the 20 countries most likely to face escalating humanitarian crises in 2025 due to the coup leader. Despite the increasing number of displaced people due to fighting, humanitarian assistance is still scarce,” said Ma Nyein Aye, a young Arakanese woman.

At the top of the 20 countries most likely to face escalating humanitarian crises next year is Sudan, which is facing the world’s largest displacement crisis and worst famine due to civil war.

The occupied Palestinian territory remains second on the Watchlist after more than a year of conflict that has devastated Gaza and significantly worsened conditions in the West Bank.

“Business as usual will not reverse this trend. Civilians will continue to suffer the worst impacts of burgeoning conflict and risk perilous journeys if we don’t break with the status quo,” said David Miliband, president and CEO of the IRC.

The IRC statement said that in order to address the humanitarian crisis, the humanitarian assistance system needs to be reformed and economic stability needs to be improved.

The IRC statement called for improving civilian protection by reforming the U.N. Security Council to increase representation, and suspend use of the veto in cases of mass atrocity.

The IRC said 305 million people worldwide are in need of humanitarian support. Watchlist countries account for 82% of this figure, despite only comprising 11% of the global population. 77% of the world’s displaced are due to crises in Watchlist countries, the IRC statement said.