Save the Children Reaches 160,000 Cyclone Survivors in Myanmar

WESTPORT, CT -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/20/08 -- Save the Children's relief efforts continue in cyclone-stricken Myanmar, with thousands of children and families receiving lifesaving assistance as the agency redoubles its work in townships surrounding Yangon and in the Irrawaddy Delta.

To date, Save the Children has reached 160,632 people including more than 50,000 children with food, water, shelter materials, household supplies and oral-rehydration salts to treat diarrhea. Survivors receiving assistance include nearly 90,000 in 11 townships in the Yangon area, more than 56,000 in the western Delta and more than 15,000 in the country's eastern Delta region. The agency, which has been working in Myanmar for 13 years, has programs in the five most devastated districts.

The death toll from Cyclone Nargis continues to rise. Unofficial estimates from the United Nations suggest that as many as 102,000 people have died, and up to 1.9 million people have been affected. Authorities have declared five regions -- with an estimated total population of 24 million -- to be in a state of emergency, including Yangon Division, Pegu Division, Mon State, Karen State and the Irrawaddy Division.

While assistance is reaching many children and families in need, thousands of lives are still at risk. Humanitarian agencies are expressing concern about an impending hungry season, as the rice planting that normally begins in June may be hampered by lack of tools and supplies, as well as by land made less arable by an influx of salt water from the storm surge. Even before the disaster, an estimated 30 percent of children in the region suffered from chronic malnutrition, according to health experts.

"Save the Children is moving as quickly as possible to reach as many vulnerable children and families as we can -- by boat and truck, in some very difficult terrain," said Ned Olney, Save the Children's vice president for humanitarian response. "We are distributing aid through our established networks, but still more assistance needs to reach the people who have lost everything."

Throughout Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region, many villages have been devastated, with thousands of homes destroyed, and more than 3,000 schools damaged. Much of the delta is reachable only by boat, even in normal times, but many boats were destroyed in the storm -- limiting the ability of storm survivors to find food, water and medical assistance.

Save the Children is one of the largest nongovernmental organizations at work in Myanmar. The agency implements programs focused on early childhood care and development, child survival and child protection. All of its 500 staff members are safe and accounted for, although their homes and families have been affected. Nearly half of Save the Children's staff are now devoted to providing relief.

Media Contacts: Eileen Burke eburke@savechildren.org 203-221-4233 203-216-0718 cell

Mike Kiernan mkiernan@savechildren.org 202-640-6630 202-460-0614 cell

2008-05-20 18:41:33 0367178 MARKETWIRE