The United Nations and international aid organisations are scrambling to respond to the devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday, leaving thousands dead and entire communities in ruins.
The 7.7-magnitude quake, which rocked central Myanmar, caused widespread destruction in cities such as Mandalay, Sagaing, and Naypyitaw, overwhelming hospitals and displacing tens of thousands of people. The death toll has reached at least 1,700, but that figure is expected to rise in the coming days.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has begun to organise relief efforts, deploying emergency teams to assess damage and facilitate aid distribution, a statement from the office said.
“Following the earthquake that hit Myanmar and the region on Friday, 28 of March, we’re seeing massive impacts across multiple states and regions across the country,” said Annette Hearns, UNOCHA’s deputy head of office in Yangon.
“The human toll is devastating. And sadly, it continues to grow,” she told Myanmar Now. “Millions of people we estimate live in the areas that were affected by the earthquake and the subsequent numerous aftershocks we’ve experienced since then.”
She added that time is running out for those still trapped, making rescue efforts more urgent by the hour, and that the needs of others in the community are growing desperate, with some even sleeping on the streets with nowhere safe to go while essential supplies run dangerously low.
“They need shelter, clean water, food, and essential supplies—everything necessary for survival,” Hearns said.
But there is still hope, according to Hearns, as humanitarian workers from domestic and international nongovernmental organisations, committed to reach those most in need in the country, mobilise to provide aid.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also mobilised, dispatching nearly three tons of medical supplies, including trauma kits and emergency tents, to hospitals struggling to cope with the influx of patients. Additional shipments of emergency health kits are expected to arrive in the coming days.
Foreign governments are also rushing to send assistance. However, it is still unknown whether the junta, which has a history of impeding or misallocating aid from abroad, will in fact use the funds for relief efforts.
The UK has pledged up to $12 million in aid to Myanmar and has said it will fund partner organisations inside the country providing food, water, medicine, and shelter in the hardest-hit areas. As of Sunday, Australia and the US have both sent $2 million in aid. The UN Central Emergency Fund (CERF) has sent $5 million.
Meanwhile, China has donated approximately $13.8 million while deploying 135 rescue personnel along with medical supplies and generators.
India has sent two military transport aircraft carrying a field hospital unit and more than 100 medical personnel to establish an emergency treatment centre in Mandalay. Russia has dispatched 120 rescue workers, while Ireland pledged US $6.5 million in humanitarian aid. Southeast Asian nations, including Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand have also sent relief teams and supplies.
Questions loom surrounding junta’s use of aid
Amid the global response, concerns remain about how the funds could be misused, sources familiar with the crisis said, specifically warning of the risk the aid directed through junta-controlled channels may be diverted to the military.
“The Myanmar military’s standard operating procedure has always been to politicise and control foreign assistance of any sort, and that includes restricting visas and imposing travel authorisation requirements to thwart humanitarian workers from reaching contested areas outside SAC authority,” said Phil Robertson, the director of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates (AHRLA) and longtime human rights advocate.
“Relief personnel from China, India, Russia and ASEAN states are allowed because they are willing to go wherever they are told, which explains why several of them were directed to relief efforts in Naypyitaw while Sagaing city languishes,” he told Myanmar Now.
According to Robertson, the junta sees humanitarian workers from North America and Europe as a problem due to their usual priority of sending aid where the need is most urgent, regardless of whether the military or an anti-junta armed group controls the territory.
The regime therefore actively obstructs their efforts as “part of a deliberate Myanmar military policy which ignores the interests of the people,” he said.
Memories of the devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008—as well as 2023’s Cyclone Mocha—when Myanmar’s previous military dictatorship blocked international assistance, still stand as clear examples of the Myanmar military hindering the delivery of badly needed support from Western nations.
While the United States (US) has been a central pillar of support to Myanmar at crucial moments in the country’s history, US President Trump’s recent cuts to USAID funding are expected to significantly hinder relief efforts in Myanmar, sources said.
“The Trump administration’s effective USAID annihilation means that the US has gone from leader to laggard when it comes to responding to international disasters,” Robertson said. “Elon Musk and the DOGE team didn’t just eliminate the money, they also wiped out the bureaucratic infrastructure and human capacity required to deliver programs.”
However, commenting on the $2 million the US has reportedly already pledged to support relief efforts, an official at the US Embassy in Myanmar noted that the US has a “long-standing commitment” to humanitarian support in Myanmar, having provided nearly $2.4 billion over the past seven years.
“In response to the devastating earthquake, a USAID team of humanitarian experts based in the region are traveling to Myanmar,” the US official said. “These experts will assess needs on the ground to further inform our response. We will provide up to $2 million through existing humanitarian partners in Myanmar to support earthquake-affected communities.”
The official added that the US continues to stand with the people of Myanmar during “times of crisis.”
Nonetheless, suppression of information from inside the country may present another obstacle to the international community’s disaster response. In an announcement on Sunday, the junta’s spokesperson Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun flatly stated that foreign journalists are barred from entering the country to report on the crisis.
Furthermore, despite the response from many foreign governments, relief operations are facing major impediments. There are risks of medical supply shortages, a critical concern, with hospitals running short of essential medicines, trauma kits, and anaesthetics.
Sources have said that food supplies may also be under threat.
“This powerful earthquake hit the country at the worst possible time,” said Sheela Matthew, the World Food Programme coordinator in Myanmar, in a recent statement.
“With one in four in the country already facing acute food insecurity, Myanmar just can’t afford another disaster. WFP has stocks of ready-to-eat food in our warehouses, and we are ready to respond as needed.”
Infrastructure damage has also hampered rescue and aid efforts. Key roads, bridges, and airports have been severely damaged, slowing the transport of supplies to the hardest-hit areas, sources told Myanmar Now this week.
“We anticipate that this disaster is only going to intensify people’s existing significant needs,” said Hearns from the UNOCHA in Yangon, noting the reality of the humanitarian disaster.
“At this critical time, people in Myanmar need the world’s support,” she added. “The humanitarian response has been chronically underfunded for many years. With the earthquake now exacerbating people’s needs, urgent funding is critical to save lives, and to mitigate suffering as soon as possible.”
As the confirmed death toll continues to rise, local relief teams and Myanmar citizens on the ground are working around the clock to rescue survivors and provide critical assistance. But with entire towns reduced to rubble and thousands likely still trapped under collapsed buildings, the full scale of the disaster is only beginning to emerge.
Robertson cautioned against taking the Myanmar military regime’s acceptance of millions in aid funds at face value.
“The SAC junta is all about directing aid to areas it controls and distributing it to groups and communities that are loyal to the military,” he said.
