Myanmar’s war-torn Rakhine State is facing a hunger catastrophe, where Rohingya families describe boiling leaves and grass to survive amid military blockades and vanishing aid. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, nearly one-third of Myanmar’s population, over 15 million people, is facing acute food insecurity in 2025. Aid workers told Reuters that some communities have been forced to survive on wild roots and plants after the ruling junta’s restrictions cut off humanitarian deliveries. Meanwhile, the BBC has reported that families are digging up banana stems as local markets collapse and displacement spreads across the region. Humanitarian groups warn that the crisis is escalating into a full-scale famine, leaving millions at risk. 

As the famine worsens, international organizations are calling attention to the dire situation that civilians face. The U.N. World Food Programme has warned that conflict, roadblocks, and funding shortfalls are pushing households into malnutrition, with more than half of families in central Rakhine saying they cannot afford basic food. Amnesty International has cautioned that any plans for Rohingya repatriation under current conditions would be “catastrophic,” citing forced labor, restricted movement, and lack of access to food and health care in northern Rakhine. The International Rescue Committee reports that families are enduring days without meals, while Human Rights Watch has called the restrictions “collective punishment.” Moreover, Reuters explains how Malaysia, along with regional partners including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, is organizing a mission to press for peace and humanitarian assistance in Myanmar. 

The crisis is not merely the result of natural scarcity; it is a politically fabricated famine. For decades, the Rohingya have been denied citizenship and subjected to systematic discrimination. The latest amplification of mass persecution utilizes food as a form of leverage. Since Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, the governing junta has waged counterinsurgency against the Rakhine’s Arakan Army. Reuters has documented how the military’s roadblocks and sieges prevent aid from reaching civilians, while Al Jazeera reports that two million people across Rakhine are at risk of starvation as the junta blocks UN convoys. The International Rescue Committee warns that aid workers face severe movement restrictions and intimidation, further crippling food distribution. Amnesty International notes that these restrictions amount to a policy of deliberate deprivation, echoing similar tactics observed in other conflict zones across Myanmar. Arab News adds that armed clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army have devastated supply chains and cut off key transportation routes, making even basic humanitarian access nearly impossible. Tight constraints on both N.G.O. and I.N.G.O. operations have left civilians at the mercy of armed actors who use hunger as leverage—turning survival itself into a political act.

Rakhine’s crisis cannot be separated from Myanmar’s broader political collapse. The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority long denied citizenship and basic rights in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, were stripped of citizenship in 1982. Since then, they have endured decades of persecution, displacement, and systematic exclusion. The 2017 military-led violence that drove more than 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh marked one of the worst humanitarian crises of the century, deeply scarring the region. Since the 2021 coup, repression has deepened, particularly in northern Rakhine, where clashes between the military and the Arakan Army have cut off essential routes and aid flows. Even in regions outside junta control, Amnesty International reports that Rohingya still face forced labor, restricted movement, and limited access to food and medical care, conditions that make recovery nearly impossible. Meanwhile, Bangladesh, already sheltering almost one million Rohingya refugees, has urged urgent action to prevent a catastrophic humanitarian collapse. 

The famine in Rakhine demands more than statements of concern, but immediate, coordinated action. Humanitarian aid routes must be opened, and those responsible for obstructing support or targeting civilians must be held to account. The international community cannot look away as millions face hunger under deliberate restriction. Governments and humanitarian actors must press Myanmar’s authorities and all armed groups to allow unrestricted relief access and protect civilians regardless of ethnicity or faith. Without that commitment, the Rohingya will remain caught between violence and starvation—still stateless, still unprotected, and still fighting for the simple right to survive.