The abrupt reduction in U.S. humanitarian aid is devastating communities in Myanmar, worsening an already dire situation and raising the risk of escalating violence, according to Thomas Andrews, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar. Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva on Monday, Andrews highlighted the severe consequences of sudden cuts to food and health programs amid intensifying airstrikes and military aggression by the ruling junta, which seized power in 2021.

"The abrupt and chaotic withdrawal of assistance—primarily by the U.S. government—is having a crushing effect on the people of Myanmar," Andrews stated.

Upon assuming office on January 20, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on all foreign aid while reviewing its alignment with his "America First" foreign policy. The U.N. expert warned that newly announced cuts to the World Food Programme could further exacerbate conditions, with famine looming in Rakhine State, a region already suffering from severe deprivation.

The impact extends beyond food insecurity. Many in Myanmar have lost access to essential healthcare services, with some HIV patients unable to receive medication for the past seven weeks due to the suspension of largely U.S.-funded health programs, Andrews revealed.

"This unfolding catastrophe is both unnecessary and cruel," he emphasized while presenting findings from a newly released U.N. report on Myanmar’s human rights crisis.

Andrews cautioned that worsening conditions could lead to a surge in human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and an increased flow of refugees fleeing across Myanmar’s borders into Bangladesh and beyond.

Myanmar has remained in turmoil since the military coup of early 2021, which ousted the democratically elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup ignited a nationwide resistance movement that has since evolved into an armed insurgency against the junta, plunging the country into prolonged conflict.