WFP To Cut Aid For About One Million People In Myanmar (image:x.com/UNinMyanmar)
The United Nations’ (UN) food agency World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday (March 14) that more than a million people in Myanmar will be cut off from life-saving food assistance from next month due to “critical shortfalls in funding”, Reuters reports.
The WFP said that these cuts came just as increased conflict, displacement and access restrictions are already sharply driving up food aid needs.
Myanmar has been locked in a civil since 2021 triggered by the military coup ousted an elected civilian government. Following, it resulted a protest movement that has extended into a nationwide armed rebellion against the ruling military group.
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Close to 20 million people in Myanmar are in need of humanitarian assistance and as per evaluation, 15.2 million – about a third of the country’s population — are facing acute food insecurity, as per UN human rights experts.
The agency said that without immediate new funding in its way, it will only be able to provide assistance “35,000 of the most vulnerable people”, which includes children under five, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and the disabled.
However, UN agency did not explained the reason behind the funding shortfall, whether it was due to the newly-elected Trump administration’s decision to cut US foreign assistance on a global level.
It stated that it requires $60 million to maintain its food aid operations in Myanmar this year. The WFP claimed that slashes would impact communities across Myanmar, as some of which are entirely dependent on agency support for its survival.
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The communities who are going to affect due to this move includes around 1,00,000 internally displaced people comprising the minority Muslim Rohingya communities and others.
“WFP is also deeply concerned about the upcoming lean season – from July to September — when food shortages hit hardest,” the statement added.
(with input from agencies)
