Mizzima-Jan 2
About 3.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Myanmar by the end of 2024, with nearly 40% of them—roughly 1.3 million— are children, according to a report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on December 5. In 2025, 19.9 million people, including 6.4 million children, will need humanitarian aid, according to a the UNICEF report. Nearly 920,000 children are out of school and lack access to education, according to the report.
A statement released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in December 2024, said that children across Myanmar have increasingly fewer opportunities to access safe education.
During the 2023-24 academic year, many children were reportedly out of school as a result of ongoing conflicts and were living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. According to the report, children make up three out of every 100 casualties caused by landmines and other explosive devices in Myanmar.
Furthermore, the mortality rate for children under five in Myanmar is the highest in Southeast Asia, at four per 100. At least 650 children had been killed or injured in Myanmar’s violence this year, UNICEF reported on November 21.
Kachin State-based civil society organizations reported on December 17 that during the fierce battle in Bhamo township of Kachin State, 10 children were killed by junta airstrikes and artillery shelling. In 2024, the Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC) said that junta airstrikes in Karenni State killed at least 20 children and injured 44 more. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), fighting in Rakhine State and Paletwa town in Chin State has caused the displacement of around 570,000 people. Out of 1,500 displaced persons, almost 800 children in Kalay Township in Sagaing Region are in grave danger because of a food shortage. Read more at:
