Disasters Emergency Committee

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As of mid- June 2008 official estimates are that up to 2.4 million people have been affected by Cyclone Nargis, which struck on 2 May 2008. On 24 June 2008 the Burmese Government said that 84,500 people died in the cyclone (source: Financial Times).DEC Member Agencies reckon to have reached at least 250,000 households in the first 4 weeks of operations. 

Access to the affected areas has been challenging, with much of the infrastructure destroyed. Given the devastation of homes and infrastructure, loss of agricultural land and access to fishing ground due to persistent flooding many people have been displaced and are currently living in temporary shelters.

The British public have been, and continue to be, very generous – the current figure for donations stands at £18 Million - and DEC Member Agencies are spending these donations effectively to help bring aid to those in need in Myanmar.Our Member Agencies have reached hundreds of thousands of survivors. This table shows some of the vital aid that has been provided in the first four weeks of the Appeal:

Table to show figures after first four weeks of Myanmar (Burma) Appeal

Rice distributed	> 566,490 kg
Clothes distributed	> 23,660 items
Tarpaulins distributed	> 20,818
Mosquito nets distributed	> 87,630
Blankets distributed	> 207,456
Drinking water distributed	> 586,709 litres
Water Guard* distributed	> 12,083
Latrines Built	> 475
Mobile Medical units	> 19 (including a floating clinic)

*Water Guard is a water purification kit

 Below you can find more details of how many people are being reached:

ActionAid’s local partner organisations are running two relief camps providing temporary shelter, hot meals and clean drinking water. They have funded a medical clinic and are also distributing clothing and mosquito nets.  

In the first four weeks following the cyclone Action Aid provided cash, food, shelter and first aid, rescue and cleaning services to 11,000 households. They also provided seeds to plant rice as June to August is the planting period for the wet season in Myanmar which provides 85% of the total production in any year, and the affected areas are the ‘rice bowl’ of the country.

The British Red Cross: By 25 May almost 700 tonnes of relief items, coordinated by the regional logistics unit in Kuala Lumpur, had been airlifted into Yangon on a number of Red Cross Red Crescent flights. By 31 May this figure exceeded 800 tonnes. To date the Red Cross has distributed relief items to over 228,000 beneficiaries in Yangon and Ayeywardy, including household items, community shelter kits and tarpaulins.

In week four of the operation the Red Cross had distributed food, non-food and shelter items to over 33,000 households. The Red Cross is currently reaching 2,000 households a day.

CAFOD’s supported partners have reached 26,000 people with food, tents and clothing from their bases in Yangon, Phyapon and Labutta.

Care International UK has recently established a new warehouse in Yangon and an office/ warehouse in Pyapon. Since the cyclone Care has provided water/ sanitation, food, plastic sheeting and rehydration solution reaching 13,057 households

Christian Aid's local partners are distributing food, water purification tablets, blankets, plastic sheeting, clothes, mosquito nets and medicines to people in hundreds of villages. They have also set up kindergartens for children in relief camps, sent out medical and veterinary teams and provided generators and chain saws so people can clear fallen trees. 27,985 people across 190 villages in three districts of the Ayeyarwady Division have benefitted from Christian Aid’s initiatives since the Cyclone hit.

Help the Aged supported partners who have set up community kitchens and have provided three mobile medical camps at which they have treated 4,931 people, of which 1,948 were older people. They have also distributed food aid, clothing and blankets, cash to repair homes and repaired roofs of 2 schools to provide emergency shelter.

Merlin was already operational in Myanmar. Since the cyclone they have reached 15,360 households with health, water and sanitation activities. These have included mobile medical teams and a floating health clinic. They have supplied half a million litres of clean water and distributed 7,184 water guards, 485 water filters and cleaned 4 water ponds.

Oxfam reached over 20,000 beneficiary households in Ayeyarwady and Yangon during the first four weeks of its overall response providing emergency food packages, shelter kits, water, temporary latrines and hygiene kits.

Save the Children: As well as provision of food, cash, tarpaulins and shelter kits, water and health services, Save the Children has also provided child friendly spaces for 1,840 children . They have reached 340,718 beneficiaries – approximately 68,144 households.

Tearfund has distributed food, water, purification kits, basic relief items and materials for home repair; they reached 29,000 households in the first four weeks following the cyclone. Mobile medical teams have provided first aid and surgical care.

World Vision has distributed standard shelter kits and food, blankets, clothes and cooking utensils as well as mosquito nets in both the Ayeyarwady and Yangon divisions and has reached 56,000 households. They have also distributed chlorine solution and undertaken pond cleaning along with supply of clean drinking water and water collection materials.