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Situation critical in Myanmar
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May 9, 2008
Conditions are worsening in Myanmar as the death toll continues to rise and survivors suffer from the lack of essential supplies such as clean water, food, and shelter.
The spread of disease is an immediate threat as hundreds of thousands of people struggle to cope with living in camps, schools, monasteries and in damaged homes without enough food and in unsanitary conditions.
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The clean-up continues in Myanmar following Cyclone Nargis/ WORLD VISION
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Children are especially vulnerable as they face emotional trauma after seeing families and communities torn apart by the cyclone.
In Yangon, World Vision has been quick to respond distributing 35 metric tons of rice, 18,000 liters of drinking water and diesel fuel to allow generators pumps to continue to pump water. Clothing, blankets and tarpaulins have also been distributed to people living in and around Yangon.
Today, these distributions are being threatened by sky-rocketing costs for food and building supplies as prices have double, or tripled in some cases.
Yangon is still mostly without electricity and running water, but signs of recovery are beginning to show as attention turns toward the hardest hit regions of the Irrawaddy Delta still desperate for help.
World Vision staff have returned from the Delta area with terrible stories of personal tragedy while a review of sponsorship operations has revealed the devastating impact of Cyclone Nargis on World Vision's own work.
The homes of staff, volunteers and family members have been destroyed and families are living in camps. Water and food is being provided by World Vision. Schools have collapsed and the nutritional status of children will be affected.
Aid flights have begun to land in Yangon, but visas for humanitarians and World Vision are still slow in being issued by the government, keeping aid specialists outside the country.
World Vision's appeal for $1 million is in full swing. The death figures stand at 22,500 with some 40,000 missing. The death toll is expected to rise, possibly considerably. Staff continue to deliver aid and assess the scope of devastation in the Delta area.
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