US Provides $50 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Myanmar 

The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday it was providing more than $50 million in humanitarian aid to Myanmar citizens who are coping with a humanitarian crisis sparked by a February 1 military coup.

The coup in the Southeast Asian country, formerly known as Burma, has led to deadly anti-junta protests and clashes between several armed ethnic groups and the ruling junta. This has caused shortages of essential goods and services, and it has forced thousands to flee their homes. “This aid will enable our international and non-governmental organization partners to provide emergency food assistance, life-saving protection, shelter, essential health care, water, sanitation and hygiene services to the people of Burma, including those forced to flee violence and persecution,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced in the statement that the U.S. also was providing $5 million to help Thailand contain the spread of COVID-19.