Save the Children Reaches 160,000 Cyclone Survivors in Myanmar

WESTPORT, CT, May 20 (MARKET WIRE) --
Save the Children's relief efforts continue in cyclone-stricken Myanmar,
with thousands of children and families receiving lifesaving assistance as the
agency redoubles its work in townships surrounding Yangon and in the Irrawaddy
Delta.

To date, Save the Children has reached 160,632 people including more than
50,000 children with food, water, shelter materials, household supplies
andoral-rehydration salts to treat diarrhea. Survivors receiving assistance
include
nearly 90,000 in 11 townships in the Yangon area, more than 56,000 in the
western Delta and more than 15,000 in the country's eastern Delta region. The
agency, which has been working in Myanmar for 13 years, has programs in the
five most devastated districts.

The death toll from Cyclone Nargis continues to rise. Unofficial estimates
from the
United Nations suggest that as many as 102,000 people have died, and up to 1.9
million people have been affected. Authorities have declared five regions --
with
an estimated total population of 24 million -- to be in a state of
emergency, including Yangon Division, Pegu Division, Mon State, Karen State
and the Irrawaddy Division.

While assistance is reaching many children and families in need, thousands
of lives
are still at risk. Humanitarian agencies are expressing concern about an
impending hungry season, as the rice planting that normally begins in June may
be hampered by lack of tools and supplies, as well as by land made less arable
by an influx of salt water from the storm surge. Even before the disaster, an
estimated 30 percent of children in the region suffered from chronic
malnutrition, according to health experts.

"Save the Children is moving as quickly as possible to reach as many
vulnerable children and families as we can -- by boat and truck, in some very
difficult terrain," said Ned Olney, Save the Children's vice president for
humanitarian response. "We are distributing aid through our established
networks, but
still more assistance needs to reach the people who have lost everything."

Throughout Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region, many villages have been
devastated, with thousands of homes destroyed, and more than 3,000 schools
damaged. Much of the delta is reachable only by boat, even in normal times, but
many boats were destroyed in the storm -- limiting the ability of storm
survivors
to find food, water and medical assistance.

Save the Children is one of the largest nongovernmental organizations at
work in Myanmar. The agency implements programs focused on early childhood care
and
development, child survival and child protection. All of its 500 staff
members are safe and accounted for, although their homes and families have been
affected. Nearly half of Save the Children's staff are now devoted to
providing relief.

Media Contacts:
Eileen Burke
Email Contact
203-221-4233
203-216-0718 cell

Mike Kiernan
Email Contact
202-640-6630
202-460-0614 cell

Copyright 2008, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

-0-