Myanmar: UK to give £22.45m in support to vulnerable people

By Blessing Chinagorom

The United Kingdom has announced an uplift of £22.45 million in humanitarian support for 2024/25 to deliver essential medical care to almost 1 million people in Myanmar.

According to the government publication on Saturday to mark four year of military coup while this funding through UK aid support will be used in first six months of 2025, helping communities access vital healthcare services despite the ongoing conflict. 

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’ve used violence, atrocities to maintain power and suppress opposition voices, which led to the UK consistently calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all those arbitrarily detained in Myanmar. 

UK govt stated that this funding will provide maternal, child health services to around 107,000 women and children, while 86,000 people will be reached with crucial nutrition support.

Also, It is expected that a further 142,000 people will be able to access sexual and reproductive health services, 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.

In her reaction, Minister for Development, Anneliese Dodds, said, “While global attention may shift, the UK will not forget 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. 

She added, “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”.

It was reported that 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. 
Report also added that Typhoon Yagi caused devastation across the South -East Asia in September 2024, severely affecting over one million people across Myanmar.

UK stated further that additional funding will help rural communities prepare for future climate-related disasters, through improved food systems, 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 which prompted UK support in planting seeds for Myanmar’s long-term recovery, restoring security and stability to make the world safer for all of us. 

The Government said that UK will continue to support ASEAN’s central role in addressing the crisis, a UN Security Council meeting on 30 January, called for full humanitarian access 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.