We have an urgent update on the situation in Myanmar: Following Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake, millions of children are still at risk. This is the deadliest earthquake Myanmar has seen in decades.
Children’s needs are massive and rising by the hour, and the window for sending lifesaving aid is closing. Families are facing acute shortages of food, safe water and medical supplies.
To make matters even more dire, daily temperatures have reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit — dangerous under any circumstance, but even more so for families living out in the open because their homes have been damaged or destroyed. Children have been forced to sleep outside without access to safe water or emergency medical care.
In situations like this, children often suffer first and suffer the most — that’s why UNICEF prioritizes the safety and well-being of children as a crisis unfolds. Rush your gift to help UNICEF act quickly in Myanmar and other emergencies or disasters >>
Here’s the current situation:
The destruction caused by Friday’s earthquake is immense. Entire communities have been flattened, with children and families left without water, food, shelter or medicine. More than 1,700 people have been killed and over 3,400 injured — many of them children.
Children and families have no home to return to. Children have been separated from their parents, and many are deeply traumatized by the loss of loved ones or from having been pulled from the rubble themselves.
With tremors continuing and search and rescue operations ongoing, the lasting effects of this disaster — both physical and psychological — will be felt far into the future.
Please help UNICEF respond to the urgent needs of children in Myanmar and other emergencies worldwide >>
What’s at stake for children:
Children in Myanmar are enduring crisis on top of crisis. Before the earthquake struck, over 6.5 million children in Myanmar were already in need of humanitarian aid because of armed conflict and displacement. For children who were already struggling to survive in these harsh conditions, this disaster is yet another brutal blow.
The earthquake caused extreme damage to schools, health facilities and critical infrastructure like bridges and power lines, disrupting critical services for children. With no electricity, no running water and no sanitation, families are in danger of disease outbreaks and are being pushed past the brink.
UNICEF is on the ground to help. Donate now to support relief efforts in Myanmar and around the globe >>
How you can help:
UNICEF has been on the ground working in Myanmar for over 75 years. In response to the earthquake, UNICEF teams jumped into action to provide immediate emergency aid for children. Working with partners, UNICEF is delivering emergency water, sanitation and hygiene kits, medical kits and nutrition supplies. Another 80 metric tons of critical supplies are on the way from global hubs.
But this initial response is not enough — not for the scale of the disaster children and families in Myanmar are facing.
Your gift today ensures that steady emergency assistance continues to reach children in Myanmar and wherever else it’s needed — helping to keep them safe as a crisis unfolds. |
Thank you,
Michele Walsh
Executive Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer
UNICEF USA |
