UN asks for $826 million to help Burma, a record for this country

The UN needs $826 million to meet the needs of 6.2 million people in Burma this year, the largest ever appeal for that country. This call represents “more than double” funds requested in 2021, said the spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), Tuesday, February 1. This plan more “ambitious (…) reflects the growing crisis” in the country, which has descended into chaos since the February 2021 putsch.

The UN estimates that of the country’s 54 million people, 25 million live in poverty. Some 14.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including five million children. “Conflict and insecurity rage in many parts of the country and more than 400,000 people have been displaced since the military took over a year ago., explained the Ocha spokesperson, Jens Laerke. Thousands of displaced people live in appalling conditions, many are in camps (…) and some have crossed the borders with Thailand and India or taken refuge in the jungle, without food, shelter, services. sanitation, protection or adequate medical care.”

Jens Laerke called for humanitarian agencies to be allowed access to IDP sites so that they can assess the needs of the people there and assist them. The funds requested to help the people of Burma are based “on an objective assessment of needs, not on our ability to provide aid”, said the spokesperson, who underlined the humanitarian needs “worrying” in the towns. The UN asks “direct and unhindered access to those who we believe need help”.