USAID's influence in Myanmar undermined nation’s values
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Tun Mon Thet (NP News) - Feb 12
At present, future of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is ending or fading under the second Trump Administration in the United States. Staff, officers and employees of the USAID have been discharged and laid off without any forerunning warnings in advance last week. Elon Musk has publicly condemned USAID, labeling it "a criminal organization."
Having missions in over 100 countries globally, the U.S. government-assisted agency operates its programs primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the East Europe where many of the U.S.’ geopolitical adversaries are located. While the agency claims to focus on humanitarian aid, development, and democracy promotion, its activities in Myanmar reveal a different reality.
It has been active in Myanmar for decades as a tool of foreign interference, using various programs to shape the country’s socio-political landscape. Under the guise of supporting press freedom, civil society, and human rights, the agency has actively influenced the media and information sector, backed organizations involved in political activism, and played a role in shaping election processes. Operating under different names and initiatives, USAID’s hidden agenda contributed to political instability while advancing U.S. geopolitical interests rather than Myanmar’s national priorities.
Disrespecting Myanmar’s cultural and social values
Financial assistance has been USAID’s primary tool in eroding Myanmar’s core cultural and social values. Through funding numerous NGOs and civil organizations, the agency strategically influenced various sectors of society. Between 2011 and 2020, a series of literature seminars were covertly used as platforms for ideological influence, subtly instilling narratives that undermined Buddhism, Buddhist-associated traditions, and long-standing social values, and produced unrealistic and half-baked concepts of liberalism in Myanmar.
The agenda behind gender advocacy
One of the most prominent and controversial initiatives was the promotion of LGBTQI activism, which clashed with Myanmar’s deeply rooted cultural and social norms. By advancing these agendas among the youth, USAID played a key role in reshaping traditional family structures, marriage, and birth rates in Myanmar.
This movement aligned with a broader globalist agenda of alien George Soros aimed at exerting control over national demographics. By disrupting the conventional family system and reducing birth rates, these efforts contributed to a larger strategy of population control under the guise of human rights and inclusivity.
One of USAID’s key allied organizations in Myanmar was Equality Myanmar. Under the banner of gender equality, USAID and its partner organization actively promoted "Gender Neutral Language" among Myanmar’s youth, subtly altering traditional social norms and cultural perceptions of gender identity.
A significant aspect of this campaign was the introduction of so-called sex education, which promoted the concept of gender fluidity and dismissed traditional distinctions between male and female with slogans like "No he or she, just human." This ideological shift encouraged young people to adopt foreign-influenced perspectives on gender, sexuality and loathing sexual intercourses, ultimately distancing them from Myanmar’s deeply rooted cultural and moral values.
By embedding these narratives into education and advocacy programs, USAID and Equality Myanmar played a role in reshaping social structures, misleading the younger generation, and promoting behaviours that clashed with traditional family values.
Ultimately, USAID’s influence extended far beyond humanitarian aid, serving as a mechanism for social engineering that conflicted with Myanmar’s national identity and traditions.
USAID-funded media
Propaganda and information control have been key tactics employed by USAID to reshape Myanmar’s socio-political paradigms. Under the programs of its "Media Development" grants, the agency heavily funded opposition news outlets such as Than Lwin Khet, Narinjara, Development Media Group, and others, using them as instruments to push a Western-driven agenda under the pretext of promoting democracy, transparency, and human rights.
The primary mission of these USAID-backed media organizations has been to spread anti-Tatmadaw propaganda, systematically shaping public perception against Myanmar’s traditional institutions. Their narratives, crafted under foreign sponsorship, have not only undermined homegrown values but also introduced globalist ideologies that conflict with Myanmar’s cultural and social fabric.
By distorting news and influencing public opinion, these media outlets have played a significant role in fueling internal instability, weakening national sovereignty, and deepening foreign interference in Myanmar’s domestic affairs.