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The two blows of Myanmar’s military coup and the coronavirus pandemic will end more than a decade of economic development in one of Asia’s poorest countries and push up to 12 million people into poverty, the UN has warned.
The United Nations Development Program said on Friday that if left unchecked, the combined impact of crises could force 25 million people, or nearly half of Myanmar’s population, to 54 million, below the official poverty line of about $ 1 a day in 2022.
According to the UNDP, women and children will carry the weight of a “tragic and avoidable setback to levels of poverty that are not seen in a generation.”
“The study we did projects that half the population will live in poverty early next year,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Director. “That’s double the pre-pandemic levels of the poor.”
The study was the last to warn of the economic and human consequences of the coup that overthrew The government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February. Even before the coup, millions of people lived in danger through the Covid-19.
The United Nations World Food Program has estimated that the economic disruption of the coup could, in six months, cause up to 3.4 million people in Myanmar go hungry, especially in cities.
UNDP said it projected a level of impoverishment not seen in Myanmar since 2005, before the democratic transition that brought Aung San Suu Kyi to power a decade later.
The seizure of power by General Min Aung Hlaing, the mass strikes and subsequent protests, and the regime’s violent crackdown on dissent have had it paralyzed Myanmar’s economy and derailed its Covid-19 vaccination program. Discomfort has also sent people fleeing across the borders of Myanmar and caused concern to neighboring India, China and Thailand.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations last weekend he called to the board to end the violence, initiate a “constructive dialogue,” accept the visit of a special asean envoy, and allow humanitarian aid.
Several countries have suspended their aid programs in Myanmar, while some donor nations were looking for ways to resume aid without helping the military junta.
“It is still very feasible that the international community, if it has the will to do so, can also turn to the support that goes into the country,” Wignaraja said.
He said the UN also wanted to help Myanmar resume its vaccination program against Covid-19, which was severely hampered by the coup. Healthcare workers have been at the forefront of the civil disobedience movement opposing the coup, risking arrest and violence.
Follow John Reed on Twitter: @JohnReedwrites
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