USAID response in Myanmar faces hurdles after staff cuts

WASHINGTON - The US State Department on March 31 said a US Agency for International Development (USAid) team was heading to Myanmar to help identify the country’s most pressing needs in the wake of a devastating earthquake that killed at least 2,000 people.

But a former top USAid official and a source familiar with the matter said the three-member assessment team’s departure was delayed by problems obtaining visas from Myanmar’s military rulers.

Moreover, they said, the overall Trump administration response has been hobbled by the huge fund cuts, contractor terminations and plans to fire nearly all USAid staff directed by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

The response has been hurt by “a lot of internal confusion about capability to respond and willingness to respond,” said Ms Sarah Charles, who headed the agency’s humanitarian assistance bureau until February 2024.

Speaking at a daily briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said US disaster experts, including those based in Bangkok, Manila and Washington, were monitoring the situation, and that the assessment team was being sent.

She rejected criticism that funding and personnel cuts were impeding USAid’s response and said that Washington was working with partners in Myanmar to get help to affected people.

State media in Myanmar said the death toll had reached 2,065 with more than 3,900 injured and over 270 missing and that the military government had declared a week-long mourning period from March 31.

The US has received a formal request for help from Myanmar’s rulers and that “has unlocked a bit more of what we now are able to do,” said Ms Bruce, who did not disclose details of what the Myanmar authorities requested.

The US has pledged US$2 million (S$2.7 million) in aid “through Myanmar-based humanitarian assistance organisations”.

Ms Charles and the source, however, said