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Bad Weather Complicates Relief Efforts, but Save the Children Continues to Deliver Food and Supplies to Homeless Families in Myanmar
Westport, Conn. (May 15, 2008) — As Save the Children continues to bring lifesaving aid to children and families left homeless by Cyclone Nargis, the agency's 500 relief workers in Myanmar are now bracing for additional heavy rains this weekend that could complicate aid efforts.
Weather experts on Wednesday had warned that a new storm was building off the coast of Myanmar, but the chance of a serious storm has been downgraded — though thunderstorms remain in the forecast.
Over the last several days, inclement weather has added to the misery of displaced people, about half of them living in makeshift shelters. It also has added to the dangers of water travel for Save the Children staff and has postponed the agency's launch of a mobile health clinic.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Save the Children agencies across the world issued a statement today expressing concern about the thousands of lives that are at risk if more aid does not reach the most vulnerable. An effective and timely response to meet the urgent and desperate needs of large numbers of affected people is required.
Speaking in Seoul at Save the Children's Annual Meeting, Peter Woicke, incoming chairman of the International Save the Children Alliance, said: "Our staff in Burma are doing lifesaving work, but we could reach more children and families if we had the supplies that they so desperately need. Indeed, if aid continues to be restricted, the condition for thousands of children will rapidly deteriorate. Alarmingly, food prices have already risen, which means that hunger might become a problem for some families. Public health conditions could also get worse as people live close together in shelters and water supplies remain limited. Without immediate and wide-scale assistance, the situation for children looks likely to get worse before it improves."
Throughout Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region, many villages have been devastated, with thousands of homes destroyed, and more than 3,000 schools damaged. The official death toll continues to rise, and more than 1 million people are homeless. Much of the delta is reachable only by boat, even in normal times, but many boats were destroyed in the storm — limiting the ability of storm survivors to find food, water and medical assistance.
Save the Children currently operates programs in all five of the most-affected regions and has worked in Myanmar since 1995. As one of the largest nongovernmental organizations at work in Myanmar, the agency implements programs focused on early childhood care and development, child survival and child protection. All staff members are safe and accounted for, although their homes and families have been affected.
Learn more about Save the Children's response to Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.
Donate now to support Save the Children's immediate and long-term response to the children and families affected by Cyclone Nargis.
