Myanmar Earthquake: How DEC charities are supporting those affected

Before the earthquake struck Myanmar on the 28th of March, the country was already in crisis, with a third of the population, 19.9 million people, in urgent need of humanitarian support. Now millions more are in need.

At least 120,000 buildings have been destroyed, leaving families forced to live outside in makeshift camps on farmland or by the side of the road. Intense rains have already started, and now with the monsoon season just a few weeks away, there is a real threat of further devastation.

The needs are huge, but despite the many challenges delivering aid within this context,  DEC charities and their local partners have already been able to reach some of the most vulnerable with lifesaving aid.

During the first 6 months of the DEC funded response, they will continue to prioritise urgent support and meeting people’s most essential needs. 

Temporary shelter 

As monsoon season approaches, 5.2 million people in the worst earthquake affected areas are in need of shelter assistance. High temperatures and heavy rain have already impacted people living in makeshift camps outside, worsening the conditions in overcrowded areas. DEC charities are working with their local partners to provide shelter kits including items such as tarpaulins, ropes, tools and bamboo building materials. 
 

Tin Tin*, 32, survived the earthquake together with her four-year-old daughter. While they were struggling to live in an open field in the extreme weather and heat, DEC member charity Save the Children provided shelter support for the community, including Tin Tin and her family.

“It rained a lot with heavy wind, and everyone had to run from the field to the nearest building for shelter. The next morning, Save the Children visited us and supported us with building temporary shelters. Our family now has a shelter to stay”  says Tin Tin.
 

Access to clean water

In the aftermath of the earthquake, millions of homes were destroyed, leaving many people sleeping outside in soaring temperatures of 40 degrees. There have been reports of wells drying up, with access to clean water critically scarce.

With between 20-60 percent of water sources destroyed, DEC charity Plan International, in partnership with local organisations, have been distributing hundreds of 20-litre containers of drinking water to people affected by the earthquake.

However, the longer term issue for communities is disruption to their main water supplies, forcing some to drink contaminated water. To combat this DEC charity World Vision is providing clean drinking water and water purification sachets. 
 

Local teams in the community have been conducting education sessions, giving instructions on how the sachets are used, helping to prevent waterborne diseases.

Healthcare services

With a lack of clean water, the spread of illness and disease becomes a major concern. Even before the earthquake, over 1.5 million people were already displaced in the affected areas, and now conditions have significantly worsened, with many more people displaced and living in crowded shelter sites, with a widespread shortage of sanitation facilities.

With diseases like cholera a real threat, DEC charities such as Save the Children, CARE International and more have been focusing on providing hygiene kits. These typically contain essential personal care items and sanitation supplies to support basic hygiene needs, like soaps, sanitation products and multi-purpose cloths for cleaning.

After escaping with her baby when the wall of the house collapsed, Ne* eventually requested temporary shelter in a hut owned by a member of the community.

She says when she arrived at her hut, the temperature was so high that it made the baby uncomfortable, “He [her baby] got heat rashes on his neck, body and thighs, it was so difficult on that day,” she says.

Now, cut off from medical supplies and health centres, she is concerned for her and her newborn baby’s longer term access to medical support.

After a disaster like an earthquake, often it is hard for people living in rural communities to access important medical care. They may be sick or injured and live far from the nearest medical facility. DEC charity and the British Red Cross’ local partner, Myanmar Red Cross Society, have deployed mobile health clinics to the worst affected areas. The mobile clinics have seen an average of 130 patients a day and provide lifesaving treatment to those affected. 

DEC charities are responding in Myanmar now and your donations are key to supporting those affected by the earthquake:

• £10 could provide [urgently needed] water to ten families for a day 
• £20 could provide essential hygiene supplies for two families for 3 months 
• £50 could provide emergency food for a family for one month