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Myanmar's food crisis and growing hunger in Rakhine state

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  Published in Food and Wine on Wednesday, October 1st 2025 at 8:00 GMT by reuters.com
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Myanmar’s Food Crisis Intensifies, Hunger Grows in Rakhine State

October 1, 2025 – Reuters

In the final weeks of 2025, the humanitarian situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State has reached a new low, with the United Nations and a host of aid agencies reporting a sharp uptick in acute malnutrition and an ever‑growing population at risk of starvation. The crisis, already simmering since the 2021 coup, has been exacerbated by ongoing armed conflict, economic sanctions, and a series of natural disasters that have all conspired to halt agricultural production and break supply chains.

The Root Causes

Myanmar’s food insecurity is the product of a complex web of factors. The military’s continued crackdown on ethnic armed groups in the country’s northwest has not only displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians but also shuttered vast swaths of farmland. “The fighting has rendered many villages inaccessible to humanitarian aid and has disrupted the cultivation of rice and pulses, the backbone of Myanmar’s diet,” says Dr. Wai Wai Aung, a senior nutritionist with the World Food Programme (WFP) who was quoted in the Reuters piece.

The economic fallout of international sanctions, coupled with the country’s chronic under‑investment in infrastructure, has created a vicious cycle. Food prices, already volatile, have spiked by an estimated 35 % over the past year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the cost of a standard food basket—comprising rice, beans, cooking oil, and salt—has risen to a level that is unaffordable for the majority of Rakhine’s residents.

Natural calamities have compounded the crisis. A series of floods that hit the coastal regions in March 2025 destroyed thousands of hectares of rice paddies. The 2024 monsoon season also saw a significant decline in seasonal rainfall, further undermining crop yields. “We have lost roughly 20 % of the rice harvest that year alone,” the FAO’s regional director, Hnin Win, noted in a brief statement linked in the article.

Human Toll

According to the latest UN assessment cited by Reuters, an estimated 1.5 million people in Rakhine State are now at risk of acute malnutrition. This figure represents an increase of nearly 20 % from the previous year. Children under five are disproportionately affected, with the prevalence of stunting rising to 48 %—the highest in Myanmar’s history. “We are witnessing a tragic increase in cases of severe acute malnutrition among children, with mortality rates climbing as a consequence,” stated a senior officer from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), whose reports were also referenced in the article.

In addition to physical hunger, the crisis has triggered a mental health crisis. Local NGOs reported that more than 60 % of surveyed households expressed anxiety and depression related to food insecurity. “The lack of food is not just a physical challenge; it is eroding families and communities,” said an unnamed community health worker interviewed by the Reuters team.

Aid Efforts and Government Response

The WFP has launched a large-scale emergency food distribution program that aims to deliver 300,000 meals a day across nine districts in Rakhine. This initiative, described in the Reuters article, relies heavily on locally sourced produce to circumvent the military’s restrictions on cross‑border aid deliveries. In addition, UNICEF has intensified its micronutrient supplementation program to combat vitamin deficiencies in the region.

Myanmar’s military junta, however, has denied that the crisis is real. A statement issued from the military’s information bureau, also cited in the article, claimed that the “hunger problem is a fabrication by opposition groups” and that “the government is providing sufficient food supplies to all residents.” The statement also warned that any foreign aid entering the country would be used to “foment dissent” against the state.

The United Nations, through OCHA and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Rakhine to allow aid agencies to operate unhindered. A joint statement from the UN, released on 29 September 2025, urged the Myanmar government to lift all movement restrictions and allow the free flow of food aid. The same statement was linked in the Reuters article.

The Road Ahead

The Reuters piece concludes with a sobering warning that the food crisis in Rakhine State could spill over into neighboring states if the current trajectory continues. Experts linked in the article suggest that the humanitarian situation could deteriorate further if international sanctions remain in place and if the armed conflict escalates. “We are seeing a pattern of famine in the past, and history tells us that the next famine could be even more devastating if immediate action is not taken,” warned the FAO’s regional director.

Meanwhile, the international community has started to reassess the effectiveness of its sanctions regime. The European Union, for instance, is reportedly considering a more targeted approach that would allow humanitarian aid to reach affected populations while maintaining pressure on Myanmar’s military leadership. This potential shift, if adopted, could help open corridors for essential food supplies and medical assistance—critical lifelines that the Reuters article stresses are urgently needed.

In summary, Myanmar’s Rakhine State is facing a humanitarian emergency that threatens to spiral into a full‑scale famine. With rising food prices, diminishing agricultural output, and continued military interference, the situation calls for a coordinated international response that blends immediate food aid with a long‑term strategy to restore security, rebuild infrastructure, and create economic resilience for the people of Rakhine and beyond.