UN warns of acute famine in Myanmar’s Rakhine state

Up to two million people in Myanmars Rakhine state face the dire prospect of famine, amid a broader economic collapse and worsening humanitarian crisis triggered by the militarys 2021 overthrow of the democratically elected government, the United Nations warned.
A new report released by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) described the situation in the poverty-struck province as an “unprecedented disaster”.
“A perfect storm is brewing,” it said, citing a combination of interlinked issues – restrictions on domestic and international flow of goods, hyperinflation, loss of livelihoods, dwindling agricultural production and lack of essential services.
Without urgent action, nearly the entire population (about 95%) “will regress into survival mode,” UNDP warned.
“They will be left to fend for themselves amid a drastic reduction in domestic production, skyrocketing prices, widespread unemployment and heightened insecurity,” it added.
Rakhine is home to the mostly-Muslim Rohingya community who fled a brutal military crackdown in 2017. Today, nearly one million Rohingya refugees remain in neighboring Bangladesh.