While the number of admissions to Action Against Hunger's feeding centres in the north of the state of Rakhine (Western Burma / Myanmar) had already dramatically increased over the past few months, the number of malnourished children receiving treatment in our feeding centres in Sittwe (capital of the Rakhine state) has seen an increase of over 60 percent within less than one month. This is mainly due to rising inflation and increasing fuel prices.

Increasing malnutrition rates due to inflation and increasing fuel prices

Within one month, fuel prices have doubled and the price of natural gas has increased five-fold in the country. This increase has resulted in an increase in rice prices. Rice is the main staple food for the population of Rakhine, which is dependent on other regions for its supplies. In view of inflation and additional transportation costs, the price of rice has increased by one third within just one month, thus reaching a level which has been unprecedented in recent years (+ 63% within one year in Northern Rakhine). This has plunged an ever-increasing number of already vulnerable sections of the population into malnutrition.

An extremely difficult period

People living in Rakhine were already extremely vulnerable, following what has been an unusually long hunger gap period (the period between two harvests when food is scarce). The longer the hunger gap period, the greater the risk of a food crisis.

The rainy season began earlier this year (in May) and was followed by a period of drought. Many vegetable crops were destroyed causing market prices to escalate. Heavy rainfall ravaged rice fields, which also contributed to the price rise.

432 severely malnourished children are currently being treated by Action Against Hunger in Sittwe alone. On 20th August, the number of severely malnourished children had already reached 264, this is compared with a number of admissions that does not normally exceed one hundred.

Action Against Hunger teams have been working in the area for more than 10 years, and are responding to this massive influx of admissions to its feeding centres. It is mainly thanks to the support from ECHO (European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office) that this has been possible. More than 4,000 people are currently looked after thanks to the distribution of food rations. Nearly 200 Action Against Hunger staff work at the feeding centres to dispense treatment or to carry out home visits in the region explaining the dosage regimen to families and ensuring a medical follow-up for children.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Lucile Grosjean on 0033 (0) 1 43 35 82 22 or email lgrosjean@actioncontrelafaim.org (Paris) or Christine Kahmann on c.kahmann@aahuk.org or 0044 (0)20 8293 919 (UK).

Action Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organisation, working in 43 of the world's poorest countries. Its vocation is to save lives, especially those of malnourished children, and to work with vulnerable populations to preserve and restore their livelihoods with dignity.