UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has called for more humanitarian access and funding for Myanmar after a three-day visit where he saw how ongoing conflict has devastated millions of displaced people, according to a press release. Grandi met with families forced from their homes and stateless communities, including earthquake survivors from March, urging all sides to find solutions for people who keep fleeing aerial bombings, destroyed homes, and forced military recruitment. His visit exposed Myanmar’s funding crisis—UNHCR has gotten only 33% of its needed $88.3 million for 2025.
Myanmar’s conflict has become one of the world’s most underfunded humanitarian disasters. The broader UN response needs $1.4 billion but has received just 22% of what’s required, leaving millions cut off from basic help. Many areas remain off-limits to aid workers, preventing them from reaching desperate communities. The Rohingya face the worst conditions—not only displaced and attacked but stripped of basic rights for years.
“The suffering of millions of people across Myanmar is immense,” Grandi said. “With aerial bombardments, destruction of property, and forced recruitment, they live in daily fear for their lives. Communities have fled again and again in search of safety.”
He stressed that displaced people across Myanmar and neighboring countries simply want to go home safely. Grandi will attend a high-level conference on Rohingya and other minorities later this month in New York to push for regional solutions.
UNHCR teams up with UN agencies and aid groups to provide food, shelter, and protection, but blocked access makes it hard to reach people who need help most.
