Myanmar
The people of Myanmar are still recovering from devastating Cyclone Nargis which killed an estimated 138,000 people last May.
AmeriCares was among the first humanitarian relief organizations allowed into Myanmar delivering critical aid in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone. Since then, we have continued to provide medicines and humanitarian aid to our health care partners on the ground. The latest delivery of aid, valued at $800,000, was shipped from AmeriCares India warehouse today.
The shipment includes enough medicines and supplies to treat 40,000 people for life-threatening infections, including cholera and dysentery.
The majority of Myanmar’s rural health clinics in the affected area were damaged by the cyclone and subsequent floods while an influx of patients overwhelmed hospitals.
Many of Myanmar’s health clinics are often simple huts often lacking electricity. The medicines and supplies found in the clinics are scarcely more than what a typical American has in their medicine cabinet at home; but they need to treat entire villages.
AmeriCares continues its commitment to restore health services for cyclone-affected communities in Myanmar. Through our partnerships with local health care organizations and our delivery of medicines and supplies, we have been successful in limiting outbreaks of deadly diseases, such as cholera and malaria, helping to save thousands of lives.
“Recovering from such a devastating disaster will take years,” says Ella Gudwin, who oversaw AmeriCares emergency relief work in Myanmar. “As our partners rebuild the health infrastructure, AmeriCares is delivering the medicines and supplies they need to diagnose, treat and heal – from hospitals to small rural clinics held in schools and monasteries.”
One of the first nonprofit organizations to deliver aid directly into Myanmar immediately after the disaster, AmeriCares airlifted more than 15 tons of critically needed medicines and medical supplies to survivors of the cyclone. Within 48 hours of the airlift’s arrival, the medicines and supplies were in the hands of mobile medical teams that were responding to survivors’ health needs. Each mobile medical team saw as many as 100 patients per day.
AmeriCares has conducted emergency health initiatives to prevent outbreaks of cholera and malaria, to establish rural health clinics and to support mobile health teams reaching isolated communities. Since May 2008, AmeriCares has delivered more than $2.6 million in aid for the Burmese people.
Cyclone Nargis swept across Myanmar last May, creating a huge tidal wave that killed an estimated 138,000 people and devastated the Irrawaddy Delta region. Nine months after the disaster, there are still an estimated 2.4 million survivors in need of aid.