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United Nations

Myanmar Earthquake Response Lags Behind, Leaving Millions in Need

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The international community is failing to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of Myanmar, where a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck three months ago, killing 3,800 people and injuring over 5,000. Despite the massive scale of the disaster, only 36 percent of the requested $275 million for the earthquake response has been disbursed, and the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) is just 12 percent funded.

Key Takeaways:

  • The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva warned that Myanmar cannot become a forgotten crisis, citing the country's history of facing cyclones, war, conflict, violence, climate, and now immense suffering.
  • Former UN Humanitarian Coordinator Marcoluigi Corsi stated that the dangerously low funding for response efforts in Myanmar remains the greatest challenge, despite the scale of need.
  • The ongoing armed conflict and political turmoil following the 2021 military coup are exacerbating humanitarian assistance efforts, with over 600 military attacks reported since the earthquake, resulting in over 500 civilian deaths and 1,000 injuries.
  • The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk reported that attacks have restricted humanitarian access, and 6 attacks have led to 48 health workers killed and 85 injured, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO).
  • The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is urging groups to respect international humanitarian law, and the ICRC's head of delegation in Yangon, Arnaud de Baecque, emphasized that the world cannot look away and that the international community must step up support.
  • The UN now estimates that 3.5 million people, 6 percent of the population, are displaced, and more than 6 million are in need of urgent assistance, with 2 million more people added to that number since the earthquake.

Statistics:

  • Only 36% of the requested $275 million for the earthquake response has been disbursed.
  • The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) is just 12% funded.
  • Since the earthquake, over 600 military attacks have been reported, resulting in over 500 civilian deaths and 1,000 injuries.
  • 48 health workers have been killed, and 85 have been injured in 6 reported attacks, as per WHO estimates.
  • 3.5 million people, 6% of the population, are displaced, and more than 6 million are in need of urgent assistance, with 2 million more people added to that number since the earthquake.
  • 19.9 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance before the earthquake, and 2 million more are now in need, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Myanmar office.

Sources:

  • IPS UN Bureau Report, July 3, 2025
  • UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva's statement, June 24, 2025
  • Former UN Humanitarian Coordinator Marcoluigi Corsi's outgoing statement, June 20, 2025
  • UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk's briefing to the Human Rights Council, June 27, 2025
  • World Health Organization (WHO) reports and updates, 2025
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reports and updates, 2025
  • UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP), and Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) reports, 2025
  • OCHA Myanmar office reports and updates, 2025

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