Sat 07 August 2021:
The UN World Food Program (WFP) is being hampered by major financial gaps as millions more people in Myanmar face food shortages and starvation, the WFP said on Friday.
“The United Nations World Food Program today warned that its life saving operations in Myanmar are being held back by a major funding shortfall, with over 70 percent of its funding needs over the coming six months still unmet,” the WFP said in a news release.
The WFP said it has estimated that the number of people facing hunger could more than double to 6.2 million in the next six months, up from 2.8 million prior to February.
“Subsequent monitoring surveys carried out by WFP have shown that since February, more and more families are being pushed to the edge,” the release said.
Starting in May, WFP launched a new urban food response, targeting 2 million people in Yangon and Mandalay, Myanmar’s two biggest cities. The majority of people to receive assistance are mothers, children, people with disabilities and the elderly. To date, 650,000 people have been assisted in urban areas, the release said.
More than 220,000 people have fled violence since February, and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. In total, 1.25 million people in Myanmar have received WFP food, cash and nutrition assistance in 2021 across urban and rural areas and $86 million is required in the next six months, the release added.
Photo: Twitter, WFP Asia Pacific
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