How has USAID cuts affected Myanmar’s earthquake relief efforts?

Story so far: The death toll in the earthquake which hit central Myanmar has steadily climbed to over 2,000, bringing the country’s infrastructure, healthcare system and power network to their knees. Strife-torn since 2021 due to a military coup, Myanmar is facing an additional need for financial aid in the wake of the devasting calamity. Its avenues for humanitarian and financial aid have reduced since U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration cut off all funds to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) – which has administered humanitarian aid programmes for almost 60 years. 

As Myanmar faced a 7.7-magnitude earthquake, the Trump administration told Congress that it would cut all remaining jobs at USAID and shut the agency. In contrast Trump has promised that the U.S would provide assistance to Myanmar. Cuts to the agency have disrupted most of its global humanitarian work – including Ukraine, Ethiopia, Palestine, Afghanistan etc. 

Why is Myanmar struggling to cope with earthquake?

The political scenario in Myanmar has been tense since a military coup toppled the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Since General Min Aung Hlaing took over as the military government’s head, the nation was put under an year-long emergency. This led to protests demanding restoration of civilian rule, which elicited a military crackdown killing more than 600 people. As the military’s campaign silencing dissenters, targeting ethnic groups continued, an opposition force emerged called the National Unity Government (NUG), with an armed wing called People’s Defense Force (PDF) to fight the junta. 

According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the PDF has grown to a 85,000-strong armed force with several rebel ethnic groups lending support. Using drones to bomb military and police outposts, PDF and its allies have captured over 180 military outposts by end of 2023 and 42% of the nation’s territory. Pushing the military in defensive in Bamar and advancing towards Mandalay, PDF has reduced the junta’s control to only 21% of Myanmar. Waning morale and its dwindling strength to 1,30,000 fighters, the junta is stretched thin fighting the opposition. 

People march in support of the National Unity Government in Dawei, Myanmar April 18, 2021, in this still image taken from a video.
| Photo Credit:
DAWEI WATCH via REUTERS

Hit with the devastating earthquake, General Min Aung Hlaing, on March 28, pleaded for international help, a rarity for the isolated military junta. 

Apart from its dwindling territorial control, the military has been responsible for destroying the nation’s critical infrastructure and hospitals in rebel-held areas, including Mandalay – the most severely-hit region due to the earthquake. The United Nations (U.N.) stated that hospitals in Mandalay, Magway and the capital Naypyidaw “are struggling to cope with the influx of people injured”.

The damage to phone and internet services, which were already patchy due to civil war, has added to the administration and NGOs inability to aid to areas in need. Land and air routes have also been disrupted as many houses have collapsed, leaving thousands trapped and even more homeless.

Before the earthquake struck , U.N. estimated that 19.9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and 3.5 million people were displaced, while more than 15 million were unable to meet their daily food needs.

How have USAID cuts affected Myanmar’s relief efforts?

The last aid provided by USAID was $3 million in October 2024 when Myanmar was affected by Typhoon Yagi. The funding was in addition to more than $44 million U.S. aid via the U.S. State department, U.S. Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs. In total, U.S. had provided humanitarian assistance worth $141 million in that fiscal year to support the nation’s vulnerable communities facing armed conflict, displacement, and growing food insecurity. 

With the USAID dismantled, Myanmar has lost $52 million in funding which amounts to 0.08% of the country’s gross national income, according to Center for Global development’s estimates. To compound Myanmar’s problems, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can keep making cuts to USAID while they appeal a lower court order that had barred them from doing so. 

Unfortunate fate: A Buddhist monk walks near a collapsed pagoda after an earthquake in Mandalay, central Myanmar on Sunday.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Apart from funding cuts, thousands of USAID staff and Foreign Service officers assigned to the agency have been sent on paid leave and all positions not required by law would be eliminated in July and September, reported Reuters. As of March 21, there were only 869 U.S. direct hire personnel on active duty.

Stripped of funding and personnel on ground, Myanmar has now lost its one-third of all multilateral humanitarian assistance and its USAID programs have reduced to just three. Atleast seven U.S.-funded hospitals operating along Myanmar’s border with Thailand have been shutdown while several other Myanmar media outlets which had been exiled by the military junta have lost funding, making the local reporting on the earthquake shaky. 

What is the junta doing?

In view of the disaster, the NUG had called for a “pause” in fighting against the military junta citing the earthquake’s destruction. NUG’s ‘acting President’ Duwa Lashi La urged the international community to send relief material to the areas that are under the group’s control and said that PDF will maintain ceasefire for two weeks starting from Sunday. 

“To facilitate rescue operations for people trapped in the debris of collapsed buildings structures, and workplaces, the PDF will implement a two-week pause in offensive military operations, except for defensive actions, in earthquake-affected areas starting March 30, 2025,” stated the NUG on Saturday (March 29, 2025). The junta did not acknowledge the ceasefire call officially. 

However, a day later, NUG accused the military junta of launching attacks on rebel targets in the earthquake-hit areas in the country’s Sagaing region and Shan state. The military’s aircraft reportedly carried out bombing raids in various locations close to the epicenter of the earthquake. 

This video grab released by the Arakan Army shows burning buildings in the headquarters of the Army’s western command in Ann township, Rakhine state, Myanmar, on December 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Currently, NUG is carrying out urgent relief and repair operations in Sagaing region while junta is operating in Mandalay, Yangon, and Nay Pyi Taw. India, China, and Russia have sent their relief teams to assist Myanmar deal with the aftermath of the earthquake. However, it is unclear if the assistance would also be extended to the areas under the control of the NUG and its allies.