A million people in Myanmar are set to lose access to food aid due to a funding crisis for the World Food Programme (WFP). More than 1 million people in the country will be without food aid starting next month, the agency said on Friday.
In a statement, the WFP said that the escalation of conflict and multiple restrictions on access have made it difficult for food aid to reach Myanmar. Cutting aid will only exacerbate the crisis.
The agency did not provide details about the funding crisis. It also did not say whether Trump’s order to cut US aid worldwide was behind the crisis.
The country’s military came to power in Myanmar in 2021, overthrowing the elected government. A nationwide uprising began.
Since then, the country has been experiencing a devastating instability due to clashes between the junta government and rebels. UN human rights experts estimate that the country needs about 20 million humanitarian aid. In addition, about 15 million people in the country are in acute food insecurity.
The WFP said the food crisis will affect people across the country. Myanmar’s internally displaced people, including 100,000 Rohingya and several other groups, are completely dependent on food aid.
The organization said it was deeply concerned about the upcoming July-September season, when crops are naturally scarce, which could exacerbate the impact of the food crisis.
It is unclear how severe the food crisis is in Myanmar. The junta is behind it.
A Reuters report last year said aid workers were facing obstacles from the junta in gathering information and reporting on the food crisis.
Meanwhile, a group of Myanmar junta soldiers fled across the border into Thailand after being attacked by an ethnic armed group. The Thai army said the soldiers fled across the border after being uprooted from their base yesterday. Source: Reuters