© Action contre la Faim
Headline
Earthquake: an unprecedented humanitarian emergency
One week after the violent 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar, the death toll exceeds 3,000 with thousands injured and many people still missing.
Action contre la Faim teams on the ground are reporting extensive damage to infrastructure, including health centers, while search operations continue in the six hardest-hit regions. People are forced to sleep in the streets, while the aftershocks of the earthquake continue to be felt every day.
The country is facing an extreme heat wave, with temperatures reaching 40°C, further complicating the situation for survivors and humanitarian teams. Electricity and communications are cut off in some parts of the country. Some cities such as Yangon receiving only 3 to 4 hours of electricity a day.
Action contre la Faim teams are safe and working against the clock to support humanitarian needs assessments. “We have deployed a team of 4 people to Mandalay and Sagaing to take part in rapid needs assessment efforts. The damage is immense, like this mosque in Sagaing, where 60 people were praying at the time of the earthquake. Tragically, no one survived,” explains Elodie Andrault, Director of Operations at Action contre la Faim.
© Action contre la Faim
Action contre la Faim is working with Burmese associations to prepare a humanitarian response. The most urgent needs include the distribution of essential supplies to internally displaced people and other vulnerable populations. These include hygiene kits, food and drinking water, among other resources essential to their well-being.
“The collapse of many buildings, especially in the city, has left people with nothing, not even enough to eat. We’re going to set up a food and kitchen kits distribution to enable them to prepare a meal,” explains Ms. Andrault.
In addition to emergency aid, our teams are preparing a response that includes psychological first aid for the affected communities, as well as the distribution of water filters and hygiene awareness campaigns to prevent water-borne diseases.
Delivering aid represents a major challenge, as many roads and main transport routes have been completely destroyed by the magnitude of the earthquake, creating craters of considerable depth, never seen before. In addition, some local airports are still struggling to re-establish operations, which is also limiting the delivery of aid by air.
For 30 years, Action contre la Faim and its local partners have been running programs in Myanmar in nutrition, food security, water, hygiene and sanitation, mental health and disaster response. Today, concerns about humanitarian needs are high, with 17.6 million people already in need of humanitarian aid in 2023.
Myanmar
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