More than 12 million people in Myanmar are expected to face acute hunger in 2026, with an estimated one million reaching emergency levels that will require lifesaving assistance, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on December 11.
The WFP emphasized that intensifying conflict and a sharp rise in displacement now threaten to push an underfunded hunger crisis to breaking point.
According to the WFP, more than 400,000 young children and mothers with acute malnutrition are surviving on nutrient-poor diets of plain rice or watery porridge.
“We’ve been hiding in the forest. There’s no way we can feed our children with baby formula. All we can give them is watery porridge, using the rice we brought when we fled our home. It breaks my heart as a mother to see my children getting so thin,” said a displaced woman in Sagaing Region.
Thousands of villagers have fled their homes in Kale Township of Sagaing Region in northwestern Myanmar after the junta closed routes and launched military operations, and aid workers said these displaced families are facing severe food shortages and urgently need help.
After more than three months of severe blockades in Kale Township, many displaced people are running out of food and surviving on watery porridge as their main source of nutrition.
“The people urgently need rice and other food, as well as basic household goods. With the change of season, many are falling sick, so there’s also a desperate need for emergency healthcare. In short, the needs are everywhere,” said a spokesperson of the Kale Town People’s Struggle Steering Committee.
“Conflict and deprivation are converging to strip away people’s basic means of survival, yet the world isn’t paying attention,” said Michael Dunford, WFP Country Director in Myanmar.
“This is one of the worst hunger crises on the planet, and one of the least funded. We cannot allow this level of suffering to remain invisible. The scale of need is far outpacing our ability to respond,” he added.
A war-displaced person in the eastern state of Karenni said that aid sent by donors isn’t reaching those who need it because of strict blockades imposed by the junta.
“When the fighting is intense and the roads are closed, it’s really hard for aid to reach us from outside. Soldiers often stop and take the aid on the roads. So even when donors want to help, it’s very difficult for their aid to get through, and as a result, the food shortage among displaced people keeps getting worse,” he told NMG.
WFP plans to assist 1.3 million people in 2026, a fraction of the more than 12 million in need, with humanitarian support requiring a budget of US$125 million.
