Humanitarian Access SCORE Report: Myanmar Survey on the Coverage, Operational Reach, and Effectiveness of Humanitarian Aid

The crisis has created a highly constrained operational environment where formal humanitarian aid is tightly controlled and relegated to a shrinking portion of the country. In response, rural communities in Myanmar have managed to prevent dire outcomes through highly localised, informal, and community-based aid. The results of a survey of affected people across the country, and interviews with national and international aid actors, show that community volunteer groups and local businesses are the primary aid providers in most regions, with international aid entities and national NGOs much less present. Local organisations have been able to maintain some access to populations in conflict-affected and non-junta controlled areas by working through local civil society groups, often covertly. The use of cash and cooperation with commercial actors are key to delivering assistance under the radar, with a higher than usual percentage of cash and vouchers reported by survey respondents among the types of aid they received. The formal aid sector's international-national-local organisation supply chains have supported some of these localised efforts, but most formal international humanitarian response is limited to junta-controlled areas and official camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). International organisations are currently prevented from providing an independent, impartial response across the country. Low-profile networks for the movement of cash and goods throughout the opposition-held and contested areas are fuelled by diaspora and solidarist organisations operating from across the Thai border. The UN estimates that 1.1 million people have been displaced since the coup, bringing the total number of IDPs to 1.5 million at the beginning of 2023, a figure that is expected to rise to 2.7 million over the course of this year. Many newly displaced people remain in overcrowded displacement sites, jungles, forests, or hard-to-reach areas, with limited access to essential services. Indiscriminate attacks by the Tatmadaw in civilian areas have caused major fatalities, property damage, and disruption to daily life and livelihoods, as well as traumatising the civilian population. The post-coup crisis in Myanmar has been characterised by escalating violence, population displacements, and military repression. The Tatmadaw has attempted to seize power from the democratically elected government of the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking major civil unrest. The NLD along with ethnic groups formed the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) in April 2021, which is operating as a parallel government, and mobilised the People's Defense Force (PDF) as a fighting arm. Many long-established ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) have ended ceasefires to fight against the Tatmadaw, some of them aligning themselves with the NUG and others not, along with hundreds of smaller, local militias that emerged after the coup. The resulting complex ecosystem of political and ethnically-based actors and interests has completely upended the prior framework for peacebuilding in the country. The crisis has also been compounded by soaring inflation, the continuing impact of COVID-19, and natural shocks such as floods, leading to shortages of food, fuel, and other essential items. The humanitarian response to the crisis has been hindered by the military's control of the country and the lack of access to affected areas, making it difficult for aid organisations to deliver assistance to those in need.