Almost one million vulnerable people in Myanmar will receive
essential medical care through UK aid support in the first six
months of 2025, helping communities access vital healthcare
services despite ongoing conflict.
The UK is announcing an uplift of £22.45 million in humanitarian
support for 2024/25 to deliver this support, four years on from
the military coup. On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military
overthrew the democratically elected government, led by Aung San
Suu Kyi, and installed a military regime. Since then, they have
used violence and atrocities to maintain power and suppress
opposition voices. The UK has consistently called for the release
of Aung San Suu Kyi and all those arbitrarily detained in
Myanmar.
UK funding will provide maternal and child health services to
around 107,000 women and children, while 86,000 people will be
reached with crucial nutrition support. It is expected that a
further 142,000 people will be able to access sexual and
reproductive health services and treatment for diseases like
tuberculosis and malaria.
The life-saving assistance comes as Myanmar faces an
unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with nearly 20 million people
now requiring aid - a twenty-fold increase since the military
coup four years ago.
Minister for Development, , said:
While global attention may shift, the UK will not forget the
millions in Myanmar still living through a brutal conflict,
creating a humanitarian crisis in a country already vulnerable to
the impacts of the climate crisis.
Four years on from the military coup and amid ongoing violence,
the UK is matching words with action - providing additional
support to meet urgent health needs and tackle long-term climate
challenges.
Over 3.5 million people are now displaced from their homes due to
the fighting, 19.9 million people are in need of humanitarian
assistance, and Myanmar is now seeing a proliferation in serious
and organised crime.
Typhoon Yagi caused devastation across South-East Asia in
September 2024, severely affecting over one million people across
Myanmar. Additional funding will help rural communities prepare
for future climate-related disasters, through improved food
systems and early warning mechanisms, including support for areas
recovering from recent typhoons.
Agriculture is vital to Myanmar's economy and without it, the
country will find it difficult to rebuild and grow when the
conflict finally ends. UK support is planting the seeds for
Myanmar's long-term recovery, restoring security and stability to
make the world safer for all of us.
The UK continues to support ASEAN's central role in addressing
the crisis. The UK convened a UN Security Council meeting on 30
January, calling for full humanitarian access across Myanmar to
help protect civilians and pressed for further action to secure a
peaceful democratic future for the Myanmar people. As penholder
on Myanmar at the UNSC, the UK will continue to take action to
bring stability to Myanmar and the wider region, maintaining our
commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific in the interests of UK
national security.
Notes to editors
- UK humanitarian support to Myanmar in the financial year 2024
to 2025 has increased to £66.45 million from an initial
allocation of £44 million (excluding support from the UK's
Integrated Security Fund), following a decision to uplift funding
due to increasing humanitarian need. By comparison, support in
the 2023 to 2024 financial year began at £30.1 million and
concluded at £38.83 million.
