An estimated 500,000 people are living in areas exposed to flooding in Ayeyarwady. Over the coming days, WFP plans to assist 35,000 flood-affected people in evacuation centres with rice and fortified biscuits. This assistance will be coupled with nutrition support for mothers and children to prevent acute malnutrition.
"Known to be the rice bowl of Myanmar, Ayeyarwady is highly susceptible to climate events like floods. Recent flooding threatens to significantly reduce monsoon rice yields. This would jeopardize the food security of the most vulnerable people, especially smallholder farmers. And the impacts are likely to be felt not just in Ayeyarwady but more broadly across Myanmar. WFP is taking swift action to help mitigate potential food shortages," said Sheela Matthew, WFP Representative in Myanmar.
Even before the flooding, a quarter of the population in Ayeyarwady - 1.5 million people - were estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the Myanmar Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2024.
WFP Myanmar flood response update:
- In Ayeyarwady, initial reports from WFP's partners indicate that hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland have been inundated. In the hardest hit areas, urgent needs include food, drinking water, and sanitation. Support to smallholder farmers will be crucial as they strive to recover from the floods.
- The ongoing distributions mark WFP's first intervention in Ayeyarwady in nine years. WFP last provided assistance in 2015 following widespread flooding in the region.
- In the rest of the country, lifesaving food assistance has so far reached 130,000 people affected by floods in Bago, Kachin, Kayin, Magway, Mandalay, and Sagaing. WFP is assessing the needs in Rakhine and stands ready to respond.
