UN report says Myanmar poverty could double from coup chaos

A United Nations report says political turmoil and disruptions following the coup in Myanmar could undo years of progress and double the number of its people living in poverty to nearly half the population

BANGKOK -- Political turmoil and disruptions following the coup in Myanmar could undo years of progress and double the number of its people living in poverty to nearly half the population, a United Nations report said Friday. The report by the U.N. Development Program, or UNDP, said 12 million people could fall into dire economic straits as businesses remain shuttered in a standoff between the junta and a mass civil disobedience movement. “The hardest hit will be poor urban populations and the worst affected will be female heads of household," Kanni Wignaraja, the UNDP's assistant secretary-general for the region, told The Associated Press via a Zoom recording. The Feb. 1 coup wrested power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained along with more than 3,400 other people. Since then, the military has severely restricted internet access and gradually stepped up violent repression of protests.