UNICEF New Zealand supports
child survival, protection and development
worldwide through education, advocacy and fundraising.
child survival, protection and development
worldwide through education, advocacy and fundraising.
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Read the latest update >>
On May 2nd, Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, leaving many thousands of people dead and hundreds of thousands of people homeless.
The cyclone caused widespread devastation, damaging buildings and destroying homes, and leaving people without shelter. The authorities declared five states and divisions to be disaster zones where thousands were hit by tsunami-like waves. The total population of the declared disaster area is around 24 million people.
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Thousands of children in Myanmar have lost everything. Not only are we concerned for their lack of shelter and clean water, we also fear for those children who have been separated from their loved ones. Our priority is to assist the affected populations by distributing life-saving emergency supplies.
UNICEF has been working in Myanmar for over 50 years. Our staff, who were already in the country prior to the cyclone, are working tirelessly to help the many thousands of children affected by this disaster.
Our pre-positioned stocks of supplies allowed us to respond quickly to the urgent needs of children and their families. We have not encountered any problems distributing supplies and continue to work cooperatively with the Myanmar Government to ensure we reach the most vulnerable children (UNICEF monitors aid closely to ensure it reaches those most in need).
Clean water
Clean water and safe hygiene systems are the most critical needs, and must be put into place as soon as possible. Apart from providing water purification tablets and bleaching powder to disinfect contaminated water, UNICEF is also constructing latrines and digging wells in the hardest-hit areas. So far, we have distributed 18 drums of bleaching powder and 19,210 water purification kits. We have also set up latrines and provided access to safe water for the thousands of displaced people living in temporary camps.
Child-friendly spaces and education
A priority concern for UNICEF is the identification of unaccompanied and separated children, as well as family tracing and unification. It is also critical that children return to school as soon as possible. With help from our partners we have set up child-friendly spaces in the camps so that children can feel safe and cared for. These spaces can also serve as makeshift schools. We are also working with our partners on the massive task of restoring the school system. UNICEF Copenhagen has supplied both backpacks and School in a Box kits.
Immunisation campaigns
"My greatest single fear is a very large measles outbreak, especially in some of these camps," said UNICEF Chief of Health Dr. Peter Salama.
In Laputta Township, UNICEF has vaccinated about 1,000 children between the ages of nine months and five years against measles. Health workers are giving the children's mothers tetanus shots. This is just one of seventy assessment and relief missions that are travelling throughout the storm-ravaged Irrawaddy, distributing essential supplies and working to stem an outbreak of preventable disease.
Cyclone-affected children heading back to school in Myanmar
Vaccination campaign continues in cyclone-affected Myanmar
UNICEF in Myanmar: Helping children calm the storms in their minds
Past news stories:
Myanmar cyclone is a children's catastrophe >>
Cyclone hits Myanmar and UNICEF is there to help >>
UNICEF On the Ground in Myanmar Delivering Critical Supplies >>
Myanmar Cyclone: Women and children make up more than half of victims >>
If UNICEF should receive funds in excess of the medium-term funding requirements for this emergency, UNICEF will use those funds to support other, under-funded emergencies.
Please support our work, donate now.
$4 can buy a large wool blanket to protect children from the cold during an emergency.
$28 can buy a First Aid kit containing items such as gloves, adhesive, bandages and gauze for use during emergency situations.
$128 can provide 10 families with Basic Family Water kits for use during emergency situations.
$308 can buy an Emergency Health Kit that provides basic drugs, medical supplies, and equipment for 1,000 people for 3 months.
