Myanmar Cyclone Response

What's Happening and How You Can Help

Cleaning up in Yangon. © Azmil77 (flickr)

As many as 100,000 people are feared dead in Myanmar (formerly Burma) after Cyclone Nargis pummeled the country this week. More than 1 million people are believed to now be homeless. Families have been separated, entire villages remain submerged, and food and clean water are in short supply where available at all. Now sewage and floating bodies threaten to spread disease further.

Complicating the situation is the reclusive Myanmar government's reluctance to accept foreign aid or admit journalists. Some aid groups, however, are on the ground and already making a difference.

Latest News

Groups You Can Support

Dealing With Disasters

Groups Working on Myanmar Relief

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)

UUSC and the Unitarian Universalist Association have joined to launch a humanitarian relief fund to help survivors of the cyclone in Myanmar (formerly Burma). UUSC will be working with survivors of the cyclone, especially those left out of traditional relief strategies.

Support UUSC's work

Refugees International

Refugees International's Joel Charny assessed humanitarian conditions inside Myanmar in March. In the wake of the recent disaster, he offered the following policy recommendations:

The international community leave political rhetoric out of all discussions about emergency humanitarian assistance with Burma, and focus on gaining access and operational authority for the United Nations.
Donor governments immediately begin funding international nongovernmental organizations that are already present inside Burma to the greatest extent possible to ensure immediate response, especially until more aid workers are allowed to enter the country.
Donor governments begin to plan for long-term financial commitments to stabilization and reconstruction in Burma, and determine the appropriate approaches for this assistance.

Read more
Support Refugees International's work

Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is accepting donations to help partners on the ground bring relief to affected families. "Burma is a country that had great needs even before this emergency," said Mervyn Lee, executive director of Mercy Corps' European headquarters, who visited the country last September. "Now those needs are magnified immensely, and it will require a response that's beyond the capacity of any one country to restore normalcy to people's lives." We are working to secure visas for our emergency responders, and talking to partners with operations on the ground. Mercy Corps is currently working through an international partner to assist rural families in Burma, and has a robust presence throughout South Asia.

Read more
Support Mercy Corps' Myanmar Cyclone Fund

MADRE

For the many survivors of this disaster, the long road of rebuilding lies ahead. MADRE is working with the Women's Human Rights Defenders Network and Burmese women's organizations. We learned from our work with women's organizations in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami that, in order to best identify and meet the communities' needs, we must rely on the local women's organizations. With your support, we can help to rebuild, provide psycho-social care to women, the elderly and children, and help them secure access to basic and life-saving services. Together, we can make sure that women and families impacted by this disaster and the need for sustainable rebuilding are taken seriously.

Read more
Support MADRE's work

Lutheran World Relief (LWR)

LWR is supporting the response of Action by Churches Together, a worldwide coalition of faith-based aid agencies. The response will address emergency needs such as food, clean water, and shelter. We are also exploring other potential partnerships on the ground for responding to this disaster.

Read more
Support LWR's work in Myanmar.

International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has dispatched an emergency team to Myanmar to rapidly assess needs and launch lifesaving relief efforts for people made homeless by the devastating cyclone. The IRC has been working in the region for 27 years, providing health care, water, sanitation, education and other assistance for tens of thousands of Myanmar refugees living along the border in Thailand.

Read more
Support the IRC's work in Myanmar.

InterAction

InterAction members are responding to the crisis through a variety of mechanisms, including but not limited to: emergency medical assistance, transitional shelter, provision of non-food items, and debris clearing. While InterAction does not accept donations, many of its members are accepting contributions for assistance and have agreed to a set of standards to ensure accountability, professional competence, and quality of service.

Read more
Support InterAction members

GlobalGiving

Donations to the GlobalGiving Relief Fund fund will be distributed among organizations working in the field in Myanmar. These include IDE, Save the Children, IMC, and CHF International.

Read more
Support the GlobalGiving Relief Fund

CHF International

CHF International is actively working to provide emergency assistance to the people of Myanmar. In line with our past experience of providing shelter and livelihoods solutions following recent natural disasters in Peru, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, we will assist the Burmese people with durable shelter and help them to begin rebuilding and prepare against future disasters.

Read more
Support CHF International's work

Action Against Hunger (ACF)

Action Against Hunger highlighted the Irawaddy region's vulnerability as a disaster prone area in February after conducting a water, sanitation, hygiene, and disaster risk reduction assessment. Based on this report and ACF's experience in similar contexts, ACF is preparing to launch an emergency intervention targeting the needs of the most affected of the Irawaddy division through:

Distribution of water purifying tablets;

Provision of water supply;

Rehabilitation and protection of water points;

Distributions of essential non-food items and emergency shelters;

Basic hygiene promotion;

Environmental clearing and clean up; and

Provision of food, cash, and/or vouchers depending on local market accessibility.

A similar intervention may be launched in Yangon following the results of ACF's ongoing assessment.

Read more
Support Action Against Hunger's work

Not Listed Here? Join the OneWorld Community and Get Listed