Rubio says US can no longer supply bulk of global humanitarian aid

The US will no longer bear the burden of providing the majority of global humanitarian aid, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on April 4, calling on other wealthy nations to step up after an earthquake devastated parts of Myanmar.

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BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON - The US will no longer bear the burden of providing the majority of global humanitarian aid, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on April 4, calling on other wealthy nations to step up after an earthquake devastated parts of Myanmar.

"We're not the government of the world. We'll provide humanitarian assistance, just like everybody else does, and we'll do it the best we can," Mr Rubio told reporters in Brussels. "But we also have other needs we have to balance that against."

US President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all US foreign aid on his first day in office. That action, and ensuing stop-work orders halting many programmes of the US Agency for International Development (USAid) worldwide, have jeopardised the delivery of life-saving food and medical aid, throwing into chaos global humanitarian relief efforts.