International Rescue Committee Mobilizes More Emergency Teams for Myanmar;
Warns of Massive Health Disaster Unless Aid Reaches Cyclone Survivors Fast
BANGKOK, Thailand, May 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- International Rescue
Committee emergency team members have arrived in Myanmar and four additional
teams are on standby for deployment to the region as the IRC prepares for a
possible outbreak of water-borne diseases in cyclone-ravaged villages.
"Nearly all homes were destroyed in the villages I assessed today and the
survivors have virtually no access to clean drinking water," says the IRC's
emergency coordinator, Gordon Bacon, speaking from Yangon. "With each passing
day, we come closer to a massive health disaster and a second wave of deaths
that is potentially larger than the first."
In addition to aid workers mounting relief efforts on the ground, the IRC has
medical, water, sanitation, operations and logistics experts already in the
region or ready to be dispatched to Myanmar as soon as aid corridors open up.
The IRC has emergency stocks in Dubai ready for shipment and is procuring
cholera kits, emergency health kits and water treatment supplies to position
in Thailand.
"Everything hinges on access," says Greg Beck, the IRC's Thailand-based Asia
regional director. "Unless there's a massive and fast infusion of aid, experts
and supplies into the hardest-hit areas, there's going to be a tragedy at an
unimaginable scale."
The IRC is accepting contributions to support emergency relief programs and
long-term recovery assistance in Myanmar. Donations in the U.S. can be made
by calling 1-877-REFUGEE (1-877-733-8433) or visiting www.theIRC.org, and in
the UK and Europe, by calling 44 020 7692 2735 or visiting www.IRCuk.org.
About the IRC: A global leader in humanitarian assistance, the International
Rescue Committee works around the world offering help and hope to refugees and
others uprooted by conflict and oppression. During crises, IRC teams provide
health care, shelter, clean water, sanitation, learning and healing programs
for children and special aid for women. As emergencies subside, the IRC stays
to revive livelihoods and help shattered communities recover and rebuild. The
IRC also helps resettle refugees admitted into the United States. A tireless
advocate for the most vulnerable, the IRC is committed to restoring hope,
dignity and opportunity.
SOURCE International Rescue Committee
New York (in Bangkok May 11): Melissa Winkler, +1-646-734-0305,
melissa.winkler@theIRC.org, New York: Philip Wood, +1-212-551-2950,
philip.wood@theIRC.org, London: Lydia Gomersall, +44-20-7692-2741,
+44-7779-855 -021, lydia.gomersall@IRCuk.org, Vienna: Peter Biro,
+43-664-279-3977, +1-646-201-3697, peter.biro@theIRC.org, all of the
International Rescue Committee
