Myanmar’s food crisis is getting worse as the WFP stops providing aid to more than a million

Due to financial shortages, WFP food assistance for more than a million people in Myanmar will not be provided next month.

Next month, acute funding shortages may prevent the World Food Program (WFP) from providing life-saving food assistance to over a million people in Myanmar. WFP said on Friday that the cuts came at a time when the nation’s food crisis is getting worse due to conflict, displacement, and access limitations.

WFP noted that many impacted areas are totally dependent on its assistance to survive, adding that “these cuts come just as increased conflict, displacement, and access restrictions are already sharply driving up food aid needs.”

The WFP is cutting back on activities in Afghanistan, sections of Africa, and refugee camps in Bangladesh, putting millions of people at risk of starvation. The financing issue in Myanmar is a part of a larger trend. According to UN human rights experts, around 20 million people in Myanmar need humanitarian aid, and 15.2 million, or nearly one-third of the population, are severely food insecure.

Since the military overthrew the elected civilian administration in early 2021, the nation has been in disarray. Violence increased throughout the country as a result of the coup, which triggered massive protests that turned into an armed resistance. Food production has become more challenging as a result of the ongoing conflict’s destruction of farms, contamination of fields with landmines and explosive ordnance, and destruction of agricultural equipment.

According to WFP, $60 million is required to continue providing food aid in Myanmar this year. The organization has not disclosed the causes of the financing shortfall, including whether it is connected to US President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce international aid.

Communities throughout Myanmar will be impacted by the cuts, including about 100,000 internally displaced Rohingya and other vulnerable populations. Food shortages are predicted to worsen during the forthcoming lean season, which runs from July to September.

While touring the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres voiced his profound concern for the situation. Beginning in April, the WFP-supported food rations for over a million Rohingya living in the camps will be reduced to just $6 per month.

Guterres assured reporters, “I can assure you that we will make every effort to prevent it,” and he promised to look for international assistance in order to obtain more cash. “To ensure that funds are made available, I will be speaking with all nations that can assist us.”

Human rights experts caution that as the crisis worsens, farming in Myanmar remains challenging even in areas with arable soil because of widespread displacement and forced migration caused by military recruitment. WFP’s funding deficit threatens to drive millions more into starvation as the situation worsens, underscoring the urgent need for international involvement.