Myanmar faces multiple and overlapping humanitarian emergencies caused by persecution, protracted armed conflict, intercommunal violence, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and cyclones. These needs have continued to mount due to ongoing armed violence and political unrest since the February 2021 military coup. The situation remains dire, with an estimated one-third of the country's 55 million people in need of assistance by 2026. In March 2025, Myanmar was struck by a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake — the largest to hit the country in over a century.
With the exception of severe natural disasters in their early stages - especially when they hit developed countries or emerging economies - most humanitarian crises that impact tens of millions of people worldwide are underreported and many forgotten. Complex emergencies or humanitarian crises caused mainly by war, conflict, persecution and the climate crisis rarely make the headlines, in particular when these crises occur in African or Asian countries.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is appealing for US$1.21 billion to address the unprecedented humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip and to respond to the growing needs in the West Bank as violence there intensifies. Meanwhile, Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea continues across much of Gaza, resulting in further civilian deaths, displacement and destruction of the civilian infrastructure on which Palestinians depend.
