Emergency Food Assistance for Prolong Conflict-affected Displaced People in Non-Government Control Area of Kachin State In June 2011, conflict in Kachin State Myanmar resumed between the Kachin Independent Organization (KIO/KIA) and the Myanmar Government, ending a 17-year ceasefire. The fighting is intensively ongoing. Those conflicts have resulted in destruction of infrastructure, loss of lives and livelihoods, deterioration in education and health services and large displacement, and the impact on local populations has been devastating.

KBC is the faith based organizations and founded in 1910. It helps many communities across the country to recover from the impact of decades of civil conflict and disaster. KBC is also one of the main organizations providing humanitarian and protection assistance to conflict-affected IDPs in both the GCA and NGCA of Kachin. KBC is involved in CCCM, Shelter, Non-Food Items, Emergency in Education, Food, WASH and protection for extremely vulnerable which includes women, men, youth and children. KBC is also implementing food security, micro credit union, capacity building, income generating, and small scale business since 2000. 

Due to the conflict between Myanmar Tatmadaw and KIO/KIA more than 120,000 people are displacing in IDP camps and host communities on both sides of the frontline from across Kachin State, in the adjacent areas of northern Shan state and in the China area. According to CCCM cluster data in December 2016, in Kachin there are 87,000 displaced people in 142 camps/sites of which 77 percent are women and children. About 48 percent are located in GCA. In NGCA, there are 17 camps/sites in NGCA with a total displaced population of 42,000. KMSS (Banmaw/Myitkyina) and HPA/Metta provided food assistance to the NGCA camps, except to six camps, which are covered by KBC near the border of China which are reported to be the most vulnerable camps due to recent clashes. KBC will focus on food assistance to the displaced population in these six camps: Shing Jai, Zai Awng, Hpare Hkyet, Hkau Sau, Maga Yang and Pa Jau. Please note that preventive movement has been stated from the last mentioned camps, due to armed fighting. Shing Jai is categorically part of GCA and accessible through Myitkyina township but travel restrictions are still experienced by KBC as part of Border Controlled Force between NGCA and GCA.

NGCA food gap mapping is updated in the WFP-led food cluster meeting on a monthly basis where information on food assistance in NGCA camps are shared and recorded. KBC also has collected information on Food Security, shelter, NFI, WASH, Education in Emergency, Protection, from these six camps. This has been done with the CCCM committee at camp level. KBC is working closely with camp leaders and providing technical assistance training in terms of camp management and mobilization as gender mainstreaming during the implementation of ECHO funded project in partnership with Oxfam and DRC. Some KBC Response Team’s rapid assessment data suggested that there will be a 3-month emergency food gap from 1st February to 30th April 2017 in five of the six above mentioned camps. For Shing Jai camp the gap would be of 2 months, from 1st March to 30 April 2017.

The main reason of this gap is that Oxfam’s ECHO funded food/cash assistance to those camps will runs out by the end of January 2017 up to the beginning of May 2017. 

Therefore this project will mainly focus on providing emergency food assistance (in line with the Sphere Standard) to 8,560 IDPs for a period of three months. As mentioned above, the targeted camps for this emergency intervention in Kachin include one IDP camp in GCA (Shing Jai in Wainmaw) and 5 camps in NGCA (Hkau Sau, Maga Yang, Pa Jau, and Zai Awng in Waimaw and Hpare Hkyet in Chiphwi) Kachin State.

This response will be implemented and monitored by KBC Emergency Humanitarian Response team. It has vast experience of conflict IDP relief response. Staff from the KBC HDD is conducting feasibility survey and assessment for food and cash in the affected communities.