WFP calls on all parties to protect humanitarian personnel and assets

By Admin 18 Dec 2024

DMG Newsroom
18 December 2024, Sittwe

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has reiterated its call on all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to respect and protect humanitarian personnel and assets.

The UN food agency said so in a statement on humanitarian assistance in northern Arakan State on December 18.

The WFP said it was aware of media reports indicating that WFP-marked food bags were allegedly found in a building previously used by border guard forces in northern Arakan State. The WFP said it was currently unable to verify this information, primarily due to the lack of access to the region.

In June 2024, a WFP warehouse in northern Arakan State's Maungdaw was looted and burnt, Wednesday's statement noted.

"Any misappropriation of humanitarian assistance intended for the most vulnerable communities depriving those most in need of lifesaving assistance, is unacceptable," the WFP statement reads.

"The theft of humanitarian aid is a very shameful act. It also damages the image of Myanmar in the international community. We strongly condemn such acts," said a politician.

The overall food security situation in Myanmar, already alarming, continues to deteriorate, the WFP statement said, adding that alongside ongoing conflicts, recent climatic shocks and the economic slowdown are further exacerbating hunger and malnutrition in Myanmar.

"We have run out of rice. We are facing difficulties due to lack of support from donor organisations," said Daw Kyi Soe, an internally displaced person (IDP) from Ponnagyun Township.

As many as 680,000 people in Arakan State have been displaced by fighting from the February 2021 coup through the end of October, and many of those IDPs are in need of food and medicines.

In 2024, 1.7 million people across the country received WFP food, nutrition, and resilience-building support.

The number of people displaced by fighting between the military and anti-regime forces in Myanmar is increasing every day, and the need for assistance continues to rise.

"IDPs are facing livelihood hardships due to lack of regular income and skyrocketing commodity prices," said a woman assisting IDPs in Tamu, Sagaing Region.

In Myanmar, more than 13 million people, or one in four people, face food insecurity, and nearly 3.5 million people have been displaced by conflict, according to a WFP statement last month.