FUNDING SHORTFALLS AND ACCESS CHALLENGES
Aid organisations in Myanmar are also grappling with funding cuts that could affect the people they serve.
According to the UN, shrinking funding, insecurity and restrictions on access have hampered efforts to deliver assistance.
In July, the global body said only 43 per cent of the US$890 million needed for Myanmar’s 2026 humanitarian response had been received.
Efforts to improve humanitarian access in the country are also on the agenda of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The bloc’s special envoy for Myanmar, Maria Theresa Lazaro, arrived in the country on Wednesday (Oct 28) for a two-day humanitarian mission, conducted with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre), which coordinates disaster relief efforts across Southeast Asia.
The mission kicks off a month-long distribution of rice and essential supplies in Kayin and Shan states, which is expected to reach more than 11,000 households. It also marks the centre’s first delivery of humanitarian assistance in northern Shan State.