International Rescue Committee on Myanmar Earthquake Response Amidst Funding Challenges

Earthquake Impact and Immediate Response

• 🌍 Myanmar is facing a significant humanitarian crisis following a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake.
• 🚨 The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has teams on the ground in Mandalay and Sagaing, providing essential aid like food, clean water, and non-food items.
• ⚠️ The earthquake has caused massive infrastructure damage, complicating transport and access to affected areas.
• 📈 The situation is layered on top of an existing humanitarian crisis due to ongoing civil war, making the response more complex.

Challenges and Access

• 🗺️ While initial assessments suggest most affected populations are reachable, transport links remain a major complicating factor.
• 🤝 A ceasefire in hostilities is considered essential for continuous care and access to all affected people.
• 🏥 Hospitals in cities are overwhelmed, and infrastructure for clean water, sanitation, and health services in rural areas is expected to be impacted.
• ⏳ Rebuilding efforts, both literal and psychological, will be a work of months, not weeks or years.

Long-Term Needs and Vulnerable Populations

• 📉 The full extent of the death toll and missing persons will take days or weeks to uncover.
• 🏘️ Many displaced people are sheltering with relatives, a situation that will become more visible in the coming days.
• ⚠️ Vulnerable populations, including women, children, and the elderly, are disproportionately impacted and will require tailored services.

Funding and Operational Challenges

• 💸 The IRC has faced significant impacts from US aid cuts, with funding awards terminated affecting millions globally.
• 🇭🇹 A previously suspended funding award in Myanmar is hoped to be reinstated, but the situation remains precarious.
• 📉 Myanmar was already ranked third on the IRC's watch list for humanitarian deterioration in 2025, and the humanitarian response plan was only 5% funded before the earthquake.
• ❓ The IRC is working through funding challenges and maintaining its full team in Myanmar for the current crisis, but future funding remains uncertain.