Half a Million People Remain Vulnerable in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta

YANGON, Myanmar (April 30, 2009) — One year after Cyclone Nargis devastated southern Myanmar, Save the Children continues to support children and families in areas hardest hit by the storm, working to improve their lives and well-being through education, health, clean water, sanitation, nutrition and livelihoods programs. 

More than 500,000 people — including 200,000 children — are still living in makeshift shelters as monsoon season looms. Save the Children continues to distribute food and water to tens of thousands of affected families across the Irrawaddy Delta and is preparing to distribute additional building materials and cash grants to people living in the low-lying region.

A temporary classroom built by Save the Children in Kungyangon Township, Yangon, June 2008. Credit: Louise Dyring Nielsen.

"Half a million people — many of them children — are living in flimsy structures, exposed to the elements," said Andrew Kirkwood, Save the Children's country director in Myanmar. "Impoverishment in the Delta, which was exacerbated by the cyclone, has made it difficult for people to rebuild their lives and homes, provide sufficient nourishment for their children or meet other basic needs. Even though it has been a year since Nargis, thousands of families still need our support."

In the months following Cyclone Nargis, Save the Children was able to mount one of its largest emergency responses in its history. The agency has helped 137,000 children get back into school; supported 40,000 families with cash grants to restart their livelihoods; and provided 60,000 people with drinking water through the height of the dry season, among other programs. Save the Children also has been working with children and their communities to plan and prepare for future disasters, strengthen schools and other structures, and map evacuation routes.

Recovery from the storm has been uneven. While commercial centers are showing good signs of recovery, more remote areas and those most affected by Nargis are still struggling. There is not enough work for the landless poor, which make up an estimated 50 percent of the Delta's population. In the year following Cyclone Nargis, Save the Children has assisted over 600,000 people, half of them children, who were most affected by the storm.

"Many households in the worst-affected areas earn less than half of their pre-Nargis income. As a consequence, people are migrating in search of jobs, and children are dropping out of school so their work can help support their families," said Kirkwood. "It will take time, maybe years, for families, communities, jobs and local economies to bounce back."

Myanmar country director Andrew Kirkwood, " Even though it has been a year since Nargis, thousands of families still need our support."

Insufficient Funding Hampers Recovery Efforts

Funding for ongoing assistance to the cyclone-affected region has not been sufficient to meet the needs of the affected population. In February, a three-year $690 million program was launched by the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the government of Myanmar to secure the long-term recovery of people affected by the cyclone. However, despite some funding commitments, little of the money has been raised.

Save the Children has been working to improve the lives and well-being of children and families in Myanmar for about 14 years. The agency, which had 500 staff members in country when the cyclone struck, launched an immediate and sustained relief effort, providing life-saving and life-sustaining assistance to storm survivors as well as working to reunite separated children with their families, provide health services, get children back into school and support them in their emotional and psychological recovery.

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Save the Children is the leading independent organization that creates lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 27 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of  children in more than 110 countries.