"Urgent Appeal as Starvation Looms in Myanmar's Rakhine State"
Aid agencies are sounding the alarm over a looming starvation crisis in war-torn Myanmar's Rakhine State, with the World Food Programme (WFP) making an urgent appeal for increased donations to avert a "full-blown disaster." The WFP is struggling to feed the rapidly growing number of displaced individuals in the region, including 140,000 Rohingya Muslims who have been living in camps since fleeing their homes during communal violence in 2012.
The civil war ignited by the 2021 military coup has devastated Myanmar's economy and created immense humanitarian needs. However, the situation in Rakhine is particularly dire, exacerbated by a military blockade that has cut off the region from the rest of the country.
In a harrowing account, a 50-year-old father living in the Ohn Taw Kyi camp resorted to adding insecticide to his food in a desperate attempt to feed his family. He died, but neighbors intervened in time to save his wife and two children. This camp, the largest housing displaced Rohingya, is located along the road leading west from the Rakhine State capital, Sittwe. Reports confirm that food scarcity has reached alarming levels, with families facing starvation.
In June, a tragic incident involving an ethnic Rakhine family of five in Sittwe was reported, where all members died under similar circumstances. Last week, an elderly couple displaced by recent fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army reportedly hanged themselves in despair over their lack of food and funds.
The WFP has reported a staggering 60% drop in its global funding this year compared to 2024, leaving it able to assist only 20% of those in Myanmar facing severe food insecurity. In March, the agency was forced to cut aid to Rakhine despite a dramatic increase in the number of families unable to support themselves.
"People are trapped in a vicious cycle—cut off by conflict, stripped of livelihoods, and left with no humanitarian safety net," said Michael Dunford, the WFP Representative in Myanmar. "We are hearing heartbreaking stories of children crying from hunger and mothers skipping meals. Families are doing everything they can, but they cannot survive this alone."
Rakhine was already severely affected by violence in 2012 and the mass expulsion of Rohingyas in 2017. In 2023, the military further escalated the crisis by blocking all trade and transport routes to the region in an effort to cut supplies to the Arakan Army, which has rapidly gained control over much of the state. Sittwe is now besieged, accessible only by sea and air, while farmers have abandoned their rice crops due to a lack of buyers.
Rohingyas are prohibited from fishing at sea, one of their few remaining sources of food and income. Even when funding is available, international aid agencies struggle to reach areas controlled by the Arakan Army.
"People can't go out. There are no jobs. Prices have increased fivefold," a camp resident told the BBC. "There is no income, so they are really struggling to make ends meet. Most people survive now by eating boiled taro roots."
The military's demand for conscripts to fight against the Arakan Army has added to the burden. Thousands of Rohingya men have been enlisted to help defend Sittwe, and families without a male member to send must support those who have been conscripted. Mohammad, a Rohingya living in one of the camps near Sittwe, explained that families typically use their WFP allowances to pay these costs. However, after aid was cut in March and only resumed in June, many families found themselves in debt.
The WFP has reported alarming signs of extreme economic distress across all communities in Rakhine. "Families are being forced to take desperate measures to survive: rising debt, begging, domestic violence, school dropouts, social tensions, and even human trafficking," the agency stated.
The failure to meet funding needs is attributed to many donor countries, although specific names were not mentioned. However, the decision by the Trump administration to cut 87% of USAID funding is likely a significant factor in the WFP's challenges. Last year, the US contributed nearly $4.5 billion to the WFP, accounting for almost half of all government donations worldwide.
In November, the UN issued a stark warning of a "famine in the making" in Rakhine. The fact that the principal emergency food agency is still far short of its funding needs and is issuing yet another appeal nine months later underscores the brutally unsympathetic environment in which the international aid industry must now operate.
