Myanmar Villagers Fight Hunger, Search for Food Amid Crisis

Food Crisis Escalates in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

Background

The civil war that began after the 2021 coup has turned Rakhine State, a coastal region bordering Bangladesh, into a humanitarian emergency. The military’s blockade of the territory has cut off essential supplies for its estimated 2.5 million residents, while international aid has dwindled following the United States’ “America First” freeze on funding.

Sudden Hunger Surge

• 57 % of families in central Rakhine now lack basic food. The World Food Programme (WFP) warned this figure had jumped from 33 % in December.
• In northern Rakhine, the WFP described the situation as “much worse” because conflict has made data collection impossible.
• Fertiliser scarcity has lowered crop yields, forcing people to eat bamboo shoots that “provide little nutrition.”

Daily Survival Struggles

Fruit vendor Kyaw Win Shein, 60, told AFP, “I have to struggle again for another day.” He added that rising prices and falling incomes drive him and others to scour the countryside for sustenance.

Wider Impact on the Rohingya

More than a million Rohingya refugees live in Bangladeshi border camps, and the UN reported that 150 000 new arrivals entered the region over the last 18 months. Inside Rakhine, nearly half a million people remain displaced. 49‑year‑old Hla Aye fled her village after bombs fell near her house and later opened a shop in Mrauk U, but her business quickly failed in the wartime economy.

Key Economic Symptoms

• Currency notes cease to circulate, and new ones are not issued due to the blockade.
• Commodity prices remain high; “many people are selling, but few are buying,” 64‑year‑old Hla Paw Tun noted.
• Only two aid handouts reached Ponnagyun’s community in the past year.

Looking Ahead

While one resident who runs a payphone shop in Ponnagyun says, “People find and eat bamboo shoots mostly,” she notes that the community has no means to purchase fish or other nutritious foods. “People are starving,” she added, underscoring the urgent need for renewed humanitarian assistance.