Livelihoods and Food Security Fund LIFT has announced funding of USD15.8 million to support Myanmar’s COVID-19 preparedness and response. The funding is estimated to benefit 5.9 million people in Myanmar at a time when the country is making urgent preparations to respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

LIFT’s assistance will be delivered through a front-line response by its implementing partners and it focuses on supporting the most vulnerable: migrants, the elderly, internally displaced people, pregnant women and those with children under the age of two. LIFT’s donors are the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, the United States of America, Canada and Ireland.

LIFT Fund Director Katy Webley said: “The COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge to Myanmar and its people, today and for the foreseeable future. In preparedness and response, we must seek to support the most vulnerable members of society and do so in a way that lifts the nation. With the funding from our donors, LIFT is proud to be able to offer assistance, working with civil society, government, ethnic service providers and all our implementing partners, to support preparedness, response and resilience at this crucial time in Myanmar.”