More than a million people in Myanmar will lose access to life-saving food assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP) next month due to severe funding shortages. The cuts come at a time when conflict, displacement, and access restrictions are worsening the country’s food crisis, WFP warned on Friday.
“These cuts come just as increased conflict, displacement and access restrictions are already sharply driving up food aid needs,” WFP stated, highlighting that many affected communities are entirely dependent on its support for survival.
The funding crisis in Myanmar is part of a broader trend, with WFP also reducing operations in Afghanistan, parts of Africa, and refugee camps in Bangladesh, leaving millions at risk of hunger. In Myanmar, nearly 20 million people require humanitarian assistance, and around 15.2 million—roughly one-third of the population—are facing acute food insecurity, according to UN human rights experts.
The country has been in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected civilian government in early 2021. The coup sparked widespread protests that evolved into an armed resistance, intensifying violence across the nation. The ongoing conflict has devastated farmland, contaminated fields with landmines and unexploded ordnance, and destroyed agricultural equipment, making food production increasingly difficult.
WFP estimates it needs $60 million to sustain food assistance in Myanmar this year. The agency has not provided details on the reasons for the funding gap, including whether it is linked to US President Donald Trump’s decision to cut foreign aid globally.
The cuts will affect communities across Myanmar, including around 100,000 internally displaced people from the minority Rohingya and other vulnerable groups. The upcoming lean season, from July to September, is expected to make food shortages even more severe.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who was visiting Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Friday, expressed deep concern over the situation. More than a million Rohingya in the camps face a reduction in their WFP-backed food rations to just $6 per month starting in April.
“I can promise that we will do everything to avoid it,” Guterres told reporters, pledging to seek global support to secure additional funding. “I will be talking to all countries in the world that can support us in order to make sure that funds are made available.”
With the crisis worsening, human rights experts warn that even where arable land is available in Myanmar, farming remains difficult due to mass displacement and military conscription forcing people to flee. As the situation deteriorates, WFP’s funding shortfall threatens to push millions deeper into hunger, heightening the need for urgent international intervention.
Melissa Enoch
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