According to official estimates, 30,000 lost their lives and 42,000 people are missing after Cyclone Nargis ravaged areas of Myanmar (Burma) on the weekend of 3 and 4 May. These figures are nonetheless lower than other estimates, which put the number of victims as high as 100,000 or more.
A state of natural catastrophe was declared in the regions of Rangoon, Irrawaddy, Pegu and in Mon and Karen States. In the Irrawaddy Delta, numerous coastal villages have been wiped off the map. Survivors, including hundreds of thousands of now-homeless people, lack safe water and food. The extent of the damage is immense and access to medicines is difficult. The growing risk of epidemics could add to the already dramatic number of victims.
Given the scale of the catastrophe, the Canton of Geneva has decided to respond to appeals by Medecins Sans Frontieres Suisse (Doctors without Borders Switzerland) and CARE International. These two NGOs, that have been in present in Myanmar for several years already, were able to rapidly mobilize their local teams to begin bringing aid to the most vulnerable people.
200,000 CHF in emergency funding - split between Medecins Sans Frontieres Suisse and CARE - will be mobilized by the Canton of Geneva to cover the immediate assistance needs of the affected population to ensure safe drinking water, food, protective tarps and essential non-food items.
Contact Persons:
Vanessa Mengel, chargée de projet, service de la solidarité internationale, DI,
Tel. 022 388 15 44, [email protected].
Laurent Sauveur, CARE International marketing coordinator, Tel. 022 795 10 27, [email protected]
About CARE: Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE has more than six decades of experience delivering emergency aid during times of crisis. Our emergency responses focus on the needs of the most vulnerable populations, particularly girls and women. Women and girls are at the heart of CARE’s emergency relief efforts because our experience shows that their gains translate into benefits for families and communities.