For immediate release
KUALA LUMPUR, Thursday, May 8, 2008: Two members of MERCY Malaysia’s relief team will be deployed to Yangon to aid the survivors of Cyclone Nargis, tonight.
Two Programme Officers will fly to Bangkok at 10pm tonight before taking a connecting flight to Yangon at 7am tomorrow.
They will be joined by a second team scheduled to leave Kuala Lumpur on Friday at 10am.
At present, MERCY Malaysia is preparing emergency relief items to be sent to Yangon, including 400 kilogrammes or 57,600 pieces of water purification sachets. Each sachet purifies 10 litres of water.
Safe potable water is critically needed in Myanmar post-Cyclone, and MERCY Malaysia plans to expand its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programmes to ensure safe water for the survivors is sustained.
Other items include 2,000 kilogrammes of plastic sheets and 50 kilogrammes of pharmaceutical drugs to be sent to Yangon.
“However, we are facing logistical issues for the transportation of our relief items to Yangon. We are hoping that a solution will present itself soon,” said MERCY Malaysia General Manager Mona Hanim Sheikh Mahmud.
“The authorities and other humanitarian agencies working in Myanmar have identified urgent needs for emergency shelter, health, food and water” she added.
Mona also said that MERCY Malaysia president Datuk Dr Jemilah Mahmood was deployed with the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team since last Monday, to facilitate and support international assistance arriving in the country. She will be meeting the team in Yangon tomorrow.
“MERCY Malaysia is grateful for the support of the Embassy of the Union of Myanmar in Kuala Lumpur for allowing us to deploy our relief team,” Mona said.
On May 3, a 190kph cyclone dubbed Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar and caused damaged to a 30,000 square-kilometre area.
The cyclone has so far claimed more than 22,000 lives with another 40,000 missing and it is estimated that up to a million people could be homeless after the catastrophic cyclone battered the country.
Note to Editor:
MERCY Malaysia is an international non-governmental organisation, a member of the Asian Disaster Reduction & Response Network (ADRRN) and the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA). MERCY Malaysia has Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) and is certified by the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) International
For further details, please contact the following:
Shamini Darshni (until Friday, 9am)
Head of Communications and Fundraising
T: 6.03.4256.9999 ext 104
F: 6.03.4256.8435
M: 6.019.314.0735
G. Anuradha
Senior Officer, Fundraising and Events
T: 6.03.4256 9999 ext 119
F: 6.03.4256.8435
M: 6.019.221.5759
Nur Azizah Anuarul Aini
Communications Officer
T: 6.03.4256 9999 ext 120
F: 6.03.4256.8435
M: 6.019.314.4539
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