Myanmar Cyclone

More than two weeks after Cyclone Giri struck Myanmar, the emergency response is insufficient to meet people's needs.

On May 2 last year, Nargis Cyclone destroyed everything in its path in the south of Myanmar. It left behind 140,000 dead and missing, as well as immense damage. To help those who survived cope with their grief and suffering, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have been providing mental health support to populations in the Irrawaddy delta for the past 10 months.

More than two months after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on May 2, devastating entire communities and destroying thousands of lives, the needs facing survivors remain critical.

MSF was among the first organizations to provide large-scale assistance to victims of Cyclone Nargis. However, one month after it devastated the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar, MSF teams are still encountering villages where survivors live in dire conditions and have not yet received any significant aid.

With an international conference of donor governments meeting over the weekend in Yangon, Myanmar, MSF Emergency Coordinator Jean-Sebastien Matte describes the needs that remain more than three weeks after Cyclone Nargis struck the country.

MSF now has more than 250 staff on the ground in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, with a total of 33 medical teams. MSF teams have reached around 120,000 people to provide medical and relief assistance. These teams have distributed at least 310 metric tons of rice, more than 84,000 cans of fish, 16,500 liters of cooking oil, and 13,500 plastic sheets for building shelters.

Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, author of The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law, considers the notion of the “responsibility to protect,” which has been raised, incorrectly, given the obstacles to international assistance in Myanmar following Cyclone Nargis. She is the legal director of MSF in France.

Yangon/Geneva/New York, May 16, 2008—Fourteen days after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, the needs remain immense in the Irawaddy Delta. Teams with the international medical humanitarian organization MSF are delivering direct medical assistance and relief supplies to tens of thousands of people. However, MSF urges an immediate scale up of overall relief operations, which have been deployed far too slowly and are largely insufficient.

More than one week after cyclone Nargis devastated the southwestern areas of Myanmar (Burma), the first MSF cargo plane arrived this morning in Yangon (Rangoon) at 8.30 a.m. local time, loaded with 34 tons of medical supplies and relief equipment. After customs clearance, the goods have been transferred to MSF warehouses in the city.

More than one week after cyclone Nargis devastated the southwest areas of Myanmar, the first Cargo plane chartered by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF) arrived this morning in Yangon at 8:30 AM local time, loaded with 34 tons of medical and logistical material. After customs clearance, the goods have been transferred to MSF warehouses in the city.

Over the weekend, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF) sent 3 cargo planes from Europe with a total of 110 metric tons of relief supplies, including tents, medical material and drugs, pumps and generators for water and sanitation activities, and ready-to-use therapeutic food. The first plane is scheduled to arrive Monday morning local time. The MSF team will be on site to ensure delivery.

Geneva/Yangon, May 9, 2008—As the first MSF relief plane receives permission to land in Yangon tomorrow, Saturday, the international medical humanitarian organization has already intensified its emergency program. As MSF scales up, there is a need for more technical experts and further supplies in the coming days. MSF has staff in various countries awaiting visas, and several other planes of cargo ready to leave in the coming days, though these still need permission from authorities to land.

MSF teams are intensifying their response in some of the worst cyclone-affected areas of Myanmar’s (Burma) Irrawaddy Delta, by providing medical care, basic relief items and food, as well as improving access to clean water. A first cargo plane carrying 40 tons of relief supplies and medical materials is leaving Europe today for Yangon, Myanmar.

Geneva/New York, May 7, 2008 — Immediately after Cyclone Nargis hit several regions of Myanmar, teams in the country with  MSF began assessing and responding to the needs of the population in Yangon and in neighboring areas. First assessments show that in the Daala and Twantey zones, south of Yangon and home to 300,000 people, 80 percent of buildings have been destroyed and some parts of the region are still flooded under one meter of water.

Souheil Reaiche, MSF head of mission in Yangon, Myanmar, describes the situation in the country following the devastating Cyclone Nargis.

Three days after Cyclone Nargis affected several areas of Myanmar, causing the deaths of a reported 10,000 people and severe material damage, large parts of the population remain without drinking water, food, and shelter.