Wed Oct 08 06:04:36 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text and a rewritten news article based on it:
**Summary:**
A recent investigation by the Associated Press (AP) reveals the devastating impact of U.S. aid cuts on Myanmar and its refugee populations. Children are dying from hunger and lack of medical care, safe houses have closed, and people are forced to forage for survival. The UN’s World Food Programme has been forced to cut assistance to a million people, exacerbating an already dire situation for Rohingya refugees in internment camps and those along the Thai border. The AP reports that despite claims to the contrary, the aid cuts are directly leading to deaths and immense suffering.
**News Article:**
**U.S. Aid Cuts Trigger Humanitarian Catastrophe in Myanmar, Leaving Children to Starve**
*Mae Sot, Thailand – October 8, 2025* – An Associated Press investigation has uncovered a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Myanmar and its border regions, directly linked to the United States’ drastic reduction in foreign aid. The investigation reveals that children are dying of starvation and disease, refugee camps are teetering on the brink, and desperate families are forced to risk their lives foraging for meager sustenance.
The AP interviewed 21 Myanmar refugees, five people trapped in internment camps inside Myanmar and 40 aid workers, medics and researchers. Their findings show that due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), UN’s World Food Programme in April severed assistance to one million people across Myanmar, with devastating consequences.
Mohammed Taher, a Rohingya refugee living in an internment camp, recounted the agonizing death of his two-year-old son, Mohammed Hashim, from malnutrition. “I lost my son because of the funding cuts,” he said. “And it is not only me — many more children in other camps have also died helplessly from hunger, malnutrition and no medical treatment.”
Despite mounting evidence, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously insisted that “No one has died” because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid programme. Mr. Rubio also insisted: “No children are dying on my watch.” Mr. Taher says, “is a lie.
The situation is equally dire for refugees along the Thai-Myanmar border. Mahmud Karmar, a refugee living in a Thai camp, says the termination of a U.S. State Department grant forced the Border Consortium to end food assistance for 85% of camp residents. “We are almost dying,” he said. “There is nothing for us here.”
The AP’s report paints a stark picture of a population struggling to survive after enduring war and persecution. As children are foraging for worms to eat, families are cutting down on meals and adults are passing out of exhaustion. Naung Pate, a refugee with six children, fears for their survival. “If the U.S. doesn’t resume its support, I am worried about my children’s survival,” she says.
The U.S. State Department, when questioned by the AP, released a statement affirming that the U.S. “continues to stand with the people of Burma (Myanmar),” while also urging capable countries to increase their contributions.
The report raises urgent questions about the humanitarian impact of U.S. foreign policy and calls for immediate action to address the growing crisis in Myanmar and its surrounding regions.
First Piper 