Myanmar’s junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, offered thanks to the United States government on Wednesday afternoon for offering humanitarian aid delivered through Samaritan’s Purse, a US-based evangelical relief organisation with ties to US President Donald Trump.
According to state-run media, the junta chief made the remarks during a visit on Thursday to a mobile field hospital set up in Naypyitaw’s Zabuthiri Township, where he greeted injured victims of the earthquake and met with US and Myanmar medical teams.
“On behalf of the Myanmar people, I express sincere thanks to the United States for its timely humanitarian assistance and compassionate efforts,” Min Aung Hlaing was quoted by state media as saying.
The field hospital—constructed from containers provided by the junta and operated in partnership with Samaritan’s Purse—began treating patients on Monday.
According to officials, the facility has already conducted 20 surgical procedures and provides outpatient services, emergency care, and surgical operations. An intensive care unit and two additional operating theatres are scheduled to open on April 10.
Dr. Elliott Tenpenny, the director of the International Health Unit for Samaritan’s Purse, reportedly briefed the junta leader on their operations and expressed appreciation for the logistical and administrative support provided by Myanmar authorities.
Despite Min Aung Hlaing’s praise for the U.S. Government, a State Department spokesperson said they were not funding Samaritan’s Purse activities in Myanmar. “We are pleased to see so many organizations on the ground helping,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Samaritan’s Purse said the organisation is “supported by tens of thousands of Christians across the U.S. and around the world”.Min Aung Hliang’s praise for US support comes as the Trump administration has slashed almost all foreign aid globally, severely impacting Myanmar humanitarian programs. A March 24 USAID document seen by Myanmar Now shows a 75 percent cut in the value of obligated contracts for Myanmar.
Samaritan’s Purse, led by the high-profile Reverend Franklin Graham, has long attracted attention for its fusion of conservative Christian evangelism and humanitarian work and for Graham’s over US$800,000 annual salary.
Graham’s past comments about Myanmar have resurfaced in light of the organisation’s current operations. During a visit in 2015, Graham described the country as “an overwhelmingly Buddhist nation” in need of Christian salvation.
“We also went by the Shwedagon Pagoda—the oldest Buddhist temple in the world,” he said on Facebook at the time. “Seeing so many people praying to lifeless statues was a heartbreaking reminder of the urgent need to proclaim the message of salvation through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
His description mirrored the rhetoric of some British colonial officers during the 19th-century occupation of Burma, who similarly dismissed Buddhist practices as idolatry while promoting Christian missionary efforts under the banner of Western civilisation.
The prominent evangelical leader has praised Trump’s review of foreign aid as “a good thing” while encouraging life-saving food and medical aid to continue. “We trust that the new leadership will analyze all of the information and make good decision”, Graham said.
Graham is a close ally of Donald Trump and led prayer at both of President Trump’s inaugurations. He has caused controversy for calling Islam “evil” and claiming that Satan is behind LGBTQI+ rights.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, the US government announced $2 million in funding through humanitarian partners. A further $7 million was announced on April 4 with funds supporting the UN World Food Programme, the International Organisation for Migration, and unnamed non-governmental organisations.
Although improved treatment for quake-affected residents of Naypyitaw was welcomed by the regime, critics argue that placing a medical hospital in the capital, already well-resourced and under junta control, makes little sense. They say that foreign medical teams would be far better deployed in harder-hit regions like Mandalay or Sagaing.
“Samaritan’s Purse is prepared to deploy additional resources to other hard-hit areas in Myanmar as needed,” the spokesperson said.
The mobile hospital is expected to continue providing medical care to earthquake-affected communities, serving as an unlikely collaboration between Myanmar’s military regime and a prominent figure in American evangelical politics.
Note: This story has been updated to reflect responses from the U.S. State Department and Samaritan’s Purse.
