EU launches Humanitarian Air Bridge after Myanmar earthquake and provides further assistance

Following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar and the broader region last Friday, the EU is channelling further assistance to strengthen relief efforts.

Concretely, the EU has launched a Humanitarian Air Bridge operation, with the first flight departing today from Copenhagen to Yangon. The cargo of 80 tonnes of EU owned supplies including tents, child protection kits, health and water and sanitation kits will be consigned to UNICEF. Supplies will be delivered to Mandalay for collection and distributed by EU partners.

Furthermore, following the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a team of 12 European experts from Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Luxembourg and Norway is being deployed to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in the coming days to ensure assistance from EU Member States reaches those in need. Sweden and the Netherlands have also offered to deploy other experts to another request, this time from the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environmental Unit. The EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre has also deployed a liaison officer to Bangkok to ensure coordination with partners on the ground.

To ensure support within the most critical hours after the disaster, EU activated the Copernicus satellite service to facilitate impact assessment and released €2.5 million in humanitarian aid. Today the EU is also releasing an additional €500,000 contributing to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) emergency appeal.

Granting access to humanitarian organisations and ensure they operate in a safe environment, as well as protecting civilians, is crucial to deliver life-saving aid.

Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, Hadja Lahbib, said: "We are further strengthening our support to people in Myanmar in this difficult time by launching a Humanitarian Air Bridge operation and coordinating the channelling of assistance from EU Member States via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. We urge all conflict parties in Myanmar to cease fire immediately. Protecting civilians and aid workers is crucial, along with ensuring unhindered access for life-saving aid."

Background

The EU has been providing humanitarian aid in Myanmar since 1994, with total funding reaching over €446 million. EU assistance includes food, nutrition, water and sanitation, shelter, protection, education in emergencies, and help to build disaster preparedness.

Just hours after the earthquake, the EU released €2.5 million in emergency aid as the very first international donor to announce aid. This comes on top of the €33 million already allocated by the EU to the humanitarian emergency at the beginning of 2025, totalling over €35 million.

EU humanitarian aid is provided directly via thoroughly vetted humanitarian organisations across the country, wherever needs are biggest, in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.