Despite humanitarian access and logistical challenges, members of the global alliance, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, have already mobilised resources through local organisations providing clean water, emergency food and non-food items to more than 100,000 people.
“ACT members have a long history of work with local organisations in Myanmar. It is through the strength of these organisations that ACT members will continue to provide the much needed relief to families braving the aftermath of this major disaster,” said ACT International Director, John Nduna.
The preliminary appeal requests funding from ACT alliance members to provide up to 1.3 million people with safe water through the rehabilitation of 5,000 water points.
Other planned assistance includes emergency shelter for up to 340,000 people along with at least 10 days of food aid for up to 68,000 people. Members are also planning distribution of non-food items for up to 112,000 people.
Increasing need
The catastrophic effects of Cyclone Nargis are becoming more apparent with each passing day since the devastating storm struck nearly two weeks ago. As of May 16, official figures put the death toll at 77,738 with at least 55,917 people still missing.
The United Nations (UN) reports that up to an estimated 2.5 million people are in need of urgent aid across southern Myanmar (Burma) and that without assistance, the loss of life will likely continue. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), only 20 percent of the needed amount of food relief is reaching people.
Preliminary rapid assessments report that the greatest needs are for water, food, non-food items, emergency and permanent shelter, and medicine. Disease outbreaks are a threat to survivors due to contaminated drinking water, poor sanitation and nutrition, and unhealthy living conditions following the cyclone.
“The wells are polluted by seawater so for the time being people survive by drinking the juice from coconuts… In the three villages we visited, people are surviving on seed grain, which was meant to be planted for the next crops,” an ACT member representative reported.
“The immediate priority is to continue getting life-saving assistance out to those in need, but ACT members also foresee significant rehabilitation challenges ahead, including food security and livelihood recovery,” said Mr. Nduna.
“Relief is moving”
An ACT member representive in Yangon said that supported local organisations are reaching “very poor villages that nobody else can access.” One organisation has already established 21 centres assisting people now homeless after the disaster.
“ACT member-supported local organizations, as part of civil society networks, are using their local knowledge to assess needs and deliver assistance,” Mr. Nduna reported.
Heavy rain is forecasted for the coming days, worsening the conditions faced by survivors. One local organization, supported by an ACT member, has begun erecting plastic sheeting to harvest rainwater to provide alternative supplies.
“On a macro level things are slow, but on a micro level -- relief is moving,” said an ACT member representative in Yangon.
With local stocks in Yangon running low and increasing food costs in the country, local organisations supported by ACT members are already working with the WFP to assist in the distribution of food aid.
A coordinated disaster response
Immediately following the cyclone, ACT members began coordinating and communicating with each other, developing a rapid support team in the region in collaboration with the ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva. Members are actively coordinating their efforts on a daily basis in both Yangon and Bangkok along with other non-governmental organisations and UN agencies.
Working across the globe, members of ACT have launched national appeals for funding and are mobilising staff to support the initial six-month humanitarian response. Initial pledges from the alliance total more than US $600,000.
Amidst harsh and life-threatening conditions, ACT members report that survivors are trying to cope as best they can. “Some have begun rebuilding their shacks with bamboo, rushes and anything else they can find. Everybody is helping each other and sharing the food they have,” reported an ACT member representative.
Mr. Nduna said, “With the enormity of the Cyclone Nargis disaster, much more assistance is desperately needed and the ACT alliance is fully mobilised to make a significant contribution.”
ACT members Christian Aid, Church World Service and DanChurchAid contributed to this report.