total contribution since the most recent outbreak of violence in August 2017 to nearly $1.2 billion for those affected within Burma as well as refugees in Bangladesh and throughout the region. In FY 2020, the United States provided more than $469 million in humanitarian assistance, bringing the U.S. We are the largest donor to the Burma and Bangladesh regional crisis humanitarian response. The United States will also continue to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to Rohingya and other vulnerable populations including in Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan states, as well as the region. In particular, we will continue working to maintain and improve the health of the people of Burma, including by combating COVID-19, and strengthen the ability of civil society to guard democratic space, foster food security, support independent media, and promote peace and reconciliation in conflict-affected regions. USAID will continue its support to the people of Burma with approximately $69 million in bilateral programs. Rather than supporting the military, we will redirect these funds to support and strengthen civil society. As a result, USAID is immediately redirecting $42.4 million of assistance away from work that would have benefited the Government of Burma. Government’s determination on Februthat the Burmese military’s actions constitute a coup, USAID conducted a thorough review of our assistance to Burma. The company cited the military’s history of exceptionally severe human rights abuses and the clear risk of future military-initiated violence. President Biden has described the Burmese military’s Februcoup as a “direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law.” The people of Burma have struggled for too long and made too many sacrifices for the military to erase this progress in such an undemocratic manner.įollowing the U.S. After Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup on 1 February 2021, imprisoning the country’s democratically elected leaders, Facebook banned the armed forces from its platform.
USAID has stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Burma for decades in their struggle for peace, democracy, and freedom.