Even before the earthquake in Myanmar, about 6.4 million children were in need of humanitarian support, according to figures from UNICEF. And the situation has not improved after Friday’s quake.
Eliane Luthi describes it as a crisis placed on top of an already prevailing crisis.
– This is also a country thrown into a security crisis with lots of forced displacements, so adding an earthquake on top of the existing crisis is really disastrous for children.
Eliane Luthi says UNICEF has helping teams in several places in the country. The relief efforts focus mainly on providing protection and clean water to those affected.
To further support the efforts, she says that on Saturday, about 80 tonnes of basic supplies were loaded from a warehouse in Copenhagen. The supplies, which include everything from tents to soap, must be flown to Myanmar to assist in the efforts.
Overnight outdoors
At the same time, after Friday’s earthquake continues to influence the area, which has forced the staff to spend the night outdoors for their safety.
– We have a large team that is in place in Myanmar and they tell us that there are serious injuries to homes, health centers and schools. The paces are still continuing, and our own team sleeps out at night because of these aftershocks and due to the actual risk of damage to some of the buildings in these cities.
Damage to the infrastructure has also done communication with UNICEF’s team on site challenging, says Eliane Luthi. Some workers only have access to a WiFi hotspot that they share a few hours a day.
– That’s how we get in touch with them, so it’s very challenging.
The situation is developing
How the situation will develop in the future is difficult to predict, says Eliane Luthi, who points out that the situation is constantly changing.
– But I can say that immediate help really needs to focus on safety, protection and clean water. Then we look at health and nutrition, and also education. These are all areas that we must work with in the coming weeks.
Hear Eliane Luthi talk about the situation in Myanmar in the video above.