WFP launches first response in nine years in Myanmar's Delta to reach flood-affected people

The United Nations World Food Programme began distributing relief food assistance for families affected by recent floods in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta Region.

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 centers 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 need humanitarian assistance, according to the Myanmar Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2024.