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Three Months after Cyclone, Children in Myanmar Face Long-Term Challenges
Food shortages and loss of livelihoods threaten health and well-being of vulnerable families
Westport, Conn. (August 1, 2008) — Save the Children continues to assist children and their families three months after Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar.
Save the Children, the largest international aid agency responding in Myanmar, has already reached over half a million people, including 225,000 children, but says that much more needs to be done.
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Min Min, 6, in his new home, Kungyangon Township, Yangon, Myanmar. |
Children are at risk of going hungry as parents struggle to make a living and provide for their families. The cyclone devastated the agriculture and fishing industry in the Irrawaddy Delta as paddy fields were flooded and boats and fishing equipment were destroyed. Rice and fish not only make up the staple diet of people living in the affected areas, but they are also account for most people's livelihoods.
"Thousands of families have been reached in the last three months, but there is still so much more work to do," said Ned Olney, Save the Children's vice president for humanitarian response. "The scale of this disaster is enormous, and it will take years for families to rebuild their lives."
Save the Children said the international relief effort needed more money to respond to the longer-term needs in the cyclone-affected areas. At a donor conference in May, world governments pledged to give more money on condition that an independent assessment of the needs was carried out and that international relief workers were given improved access to the delta region worst hit by the cyclone. These conditions have now been met, so it is time for donors to give more. The UN appeal for Myanmar is currently around $300 million below target.
Save the Children responded immediately to the needs of families in the areas surrounding Yangon and in the Delta. The agency distributed plastic sheeting to 100,000 families to build shelters, and provided 1,900 metric tons of rice, 96,000 sachets of diarrhea treatment, 10,500 mosquito nets, 7,000 blankets and 14,000 bars of soap.
As the response moves into the recovery phase, Save the Children will be helping children get back to school, providing opportunities for parents to start earning money again and working with local organizations and communities to ensure that separated and displaced children are looked after and not left in institutional care for the long term. The agency has established 78 safe play areas for around 8,000 children, given out school supplies and helped over 50,000 children get back into school.
Save the Children has been working in Myanmar for 13 years. The agency has more than 780 staff and volunteers working on the emergency response to the cyclone and around 1,000 staff in Myanmar in total.
