Plan provides US$300,000 for Myanmar (Burma) cyclone relief

Plan International has provided US$300,000 for immediate emergency humanitarian and relief operations in Myanmar (Burma) after a cyclone tore through the country leaving a trail of destruction and more than 44,500 dead.

UN agencies are conceding the number of people affected will exceed 2.5 million.

The emergency funds will be used to provide vitally needed medicines and supplies to almost a million children and their families displaced by cyclone Nargis including emergency non-food items, such as mosquito nets, shelters, saws, axes, sarongs, and hygiene kits, especially for young girls.

Medical supplies including anti diarrhoea, anti-bacterial, and anti-malarial drugs, as well as saline drips and basic bandaging and dressings will also be distributed.

Almost a week after the cyclone, much of the Irrawaddy Delta, the rice bowl of Myanmar, is underwater and hundreds of thousands of children remain without food, water, clothing or shelter.
Meanwhile, Plan and other agencies are ready to respond, but are still awaiting the necessary authorisation to enter the country. With every day the risk of disease increases, and contaminated food and water supplies leave the displaced even more vulnerable.

Speaking from Thailand, Plan International's Director of Communications, Gary Walker said:

"Experience has shown us this is a race against time. There are up to a million people needing assistance, many of them children. It is vital we get shelter and medicines to them as quickly as possible. The longer the delay, the greater the likelihood the death toll will soar even higher."

Plan has no active programs in Myanmar but is ideally placed to offer immediate and expert assistance. Plan has strong programs in most of Myanmar’s neighbours and highly trained staff poised to intervene the minute permission is granted for aid agencies to enter the country. Plan already has partners in Myanmar and they are collating necessary information and assessments for our response.

Plan's in-depth knowledge and experience from the tsunami will also come into play. Our expertise in working with children and communities in the aftermath of Asia’s biggest disaster will guide our operations as communities start the long road to recovery.

Plan in Australia is not seeking public funds to support the emergency response at this time as it is expected that sufficient funds will be raised from other sources to meet Plan’s commitments.

Plan is supportive of other Australian-based agencies' response to the emergency in Myanmar and encourages people interested in learning more about or supporting the relief efforts to visit the website of Australian Council for International Development (ACFID).