Myanmar Appeal

Children and families in Myanmar are facing a deepening humanitarian crisis, significantly compounded by the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck on 28 March 2025. The earthquake affected 58 townships, leaving 6.3 million people – including nearly 2 million children – in urgent need of life-saving assistance. Many of these communities were already experiencing hardship due to conflict, displacement and economic instability. In total, 21.9 million people, including 6.9 million children, will require humanitarian assistance in 2025, encompassing those affected by both the earthquake and the broader humanitarian crisis. More than 3.5 million people are internally displaced, many living in precarious situations with limited access to essential services.

The earthquake caused extensive damage to healthcare facilities, severely restricting access to primary healthcare, maternal and newborn care and other essential services. The risk of health problems, including respiratory infections and acute watery diarrhoea, has heightened due to damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, poor hygiene conditions and the early onset of the monsoon season. Malnutrition remains a serious concern, particularly for children under age 5 years and pregnant and lactating women, because access to nutrition services and supplies has been negatively impacted. 

The worsening economic context has further reduced household resilience, and nearly 55 per cent of children live in poverty. Rising food prices and shrinking incomes had already affected the quality of children’s diets, with over 40 per cent of those aged 6–23 months unable to access adequately diverse and nutritious food. 

Child protection concerns are also intensifying. The earthquake has heightened pre-existing risks of violence, exploitation and abuse, especially for women and children. Children separated from their families because of the conflict and those affected by the earthquake have a deep need for care and support. Ongoing aftershocks and uncertainty continue to affect the mental well-being of children, many of whom require psychosocial support to restore a sense of safety and stability. At the same time, their parents and caregivers also need support to be able to care for their children and protect them from harm, violence and abuse. 

The earthquake severely disrupted access to education. Of 1,656 schools assessed following the March earthquake, half were damaged and 279 destroyed. Prioritized action is needed to support school reopening, including debris removal, establishment of temporary learning spaces and restoration of WASH facilities, because the limited access to education increases protection risks and the risk of a lost generation of children.

The crisis in Myanmar is protracted and multifaceted, requiring UNICEF and partners to simultaneously address urgent humanitarian needs and invest in long-term community resilience. 

In response to the March 2025 earthquake, and in line with the inter-agency Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan flash addendum for the Myanmar earthquake (April 2025), UNICEF is pursuing a coordinated, multisectoral approach that integrates humanitarian relief with early recovery efforts. This includes restoring vital services, enhancing resilience and ensuring long-term stability, particularly for children. 

With nationwide coverage through seven field offices and leadership in five clusters/areas of responsibility, UNICEF is strengthening emergency preparedness and delivering a multisectoral response. By leveraging diverse service delivery platforms, UNICEF is expanding its multisectoral response to more communities, addressing urgent needs driven by ongoing conflict and climate-induced shocks. 

Life-saving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services remain a priority. These include direct distribution of WASH supplies in hard-to-reach areas; sustainable solutions such as solid waste management; facility restoration in schools and health centres; capacity-building for partners; and hygiene promotion. In earthquake-affected areas, restoration of WASH services remains a priority, especially given the significant level of infrastructure damage. As monsoon season approaches, UNICEF is mobilizing technical assessments and reinforcing infrastructure to mitigate the impact of future disasters. 

UNICEF supports health and nutrition interventions in both fixed and mobile settings. These include rehabilitating health facilities, expanding solar-powered cold chain systems and launching mobile health outreach efforts. UNICEF will also deliver maternal, newborn and child health services, including disability-inclusive support. Nutrition services prioritize early detection, prevention, treatment and care of malnourished children to help them survive, including through promoting positive feeding, dietary and care practices.

Child protection remains central to UNICEF's work in Myanmar, with integrated services offering mental health and psychosocial support; case management; prevention of gender-based violence; prevention and reporting on grave violations against children; and explosive ordnance risk education. UNICEF is also strengthening community systems and the social service workforce, transitioning from emergency response to structured, longer-term, community-based support. These efforts aim to equip local actors with the training and tools needed for sustainable child protection and emergency preparedness. 

Education interventions ensure safe, inclusive learning opportunities for marginalized and displaced children. These efforts include creating safe learning environments, distributing essential teaching and learning materials, conducting light repairs to educational facilities, and launching back-to-learning initiatives that integrate structured learning support with psychosocial care to foster resilience and ensure learning continuity. 

Humanitarian cash transfers in the form of multipurpose cash are complemented by integrated “cash plus” programming that targets pregnant women, children under age 2 years and children with disabilities. UNICEF is working with the Cash Working Group to harmonize cash targeting, transfer values and delivery systems, supporting both immediate relief and medium-term recovery. 

UNICEF prioritizes social and behaviour change interventions to promote life-saving practices, vaccine acceptance and preventive health and social services. Strengthened community feedback mechanisms will enhance integration, social cohesion, accountability and engagement across all sectors. UNICEF is committed to protection of populations from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), adhering to zero-tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse committed by UNICEF staff and partners.