Nearly 40% of 3.4 million displaced in Myanmar are children: United Nations

UNICEF reports 40% of Myanmar's 3.4M displaced are children, facing conflict, climate disasters, and deadly violence.

Children made up nearly 40% of the more than 3.4 million people in Myanmar displaced by civil war and climate change-driven extreme weather, the United Nations agency for children said Thursday (November 21, 2024).

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in 2021 and launched a crackdown that sparked an armed uprising against the junta's rule.

The Southeast Asian nation was also battered by Typhoon Yagi in September, triggering major floods that killed more than 400 people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

“The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar is reaching a critical inflexion point, with escalating conflict and climate shocks putting children and families at unprecedented risk,” United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) deputy executive director Ted Chaiban said in a statement on Thursday (November 21, 2024).

"Over 3.4 million people have been displaced across the country, nearly 40% of whom are children," it said.

The junta is battling widespread armed opposition to its 2021 coup, and its soldiers have been accused of bloody rampages and using air and artillery strikes to punish civilian communities.

The fighting, as well as severe climate events like Typhoon Yagi, have had a “devastating impact” on children, Chaiban said, leaving them displaced, vulnerable to violence, and cut off from health care and education.