YANGON, Myanmar — A year after a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, UNICEF has warned that international aid funding remains critically low, leaving millions of vulnerable people, including nearly five million children, without essential support.
Marking the anniversary of the 2025 Sagaing earthquake on March 28, the UN children’s agency highlighted a growing humanitarian gap. For the year 2026, an estimated 16.2 million people in Myanmar are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 4.9 million of them being children.
“While the needs remain immense, the funding to respond is alarmingly low,” UNICEF said in a statement. Despite these financial hurdles, the agency reported that in the past year, it has managed to provide life-saving services to approximately 4.6 million people, including 2.1 million children in earthquake-affected regions.
The 2025 quake, which was centered near Sagaing, caused widespread destruction across central Myanmar, a region already grappling with intense civil conflict since the 2021 military coup.
The humanitarian situation is compounded by a massive internal displacement crisis. UNOCHA Myanmar estimates that there are now 3.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) across the country. The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan aims to target two-thirds of all townships nationwide, focusing on areas hit by both conflict and natural disasters.
However, aid delivery remains fraught with political and logistical challenges. Local activists argue that much of the international aid channeled through UN agencies is subject to restrictions by the sham government’s military authorities.
“International aid mostly goes to UN-related organizations, but these groups cannot provide help in areas where the military does not grant permission,” a Monywa-based activist told MPA. “Because of this, the amount of aid actually reaching those in active conflict zones or the most remote IDP camps is incredibly small.”
While humanitarian organizations have reached approximately 1.7 million people with recovery assistance so far, UNOCHA Myanmar noted on Saturday that many communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives.
As the world’s attention remains focused on other global conflicts, the people of the Sagaing Region and beyond are facing a silent emergency. Without a significant surge in international donations, aid agencies warn that the progress made in the wake of the 2025 earthquake could be lost, leaving a generation of children at risk of falling through the cracks of a failing state.
