Yangon/Cologne. "We are happy and grateful for the success of the Secretary General of the United Nations who achieved the opening of Myanmar for all foreign aid workers," Ingo Rad-tke, Secretary General of Malteser International, says. "We interpret this as a visible sign of improvement. But nevertheless, we have to wait and see what will happen in the next hours - because being able to enter the country does not automatically mean to be able to move without restrictions. As the phase of disaster relief is not yet over, we urgently must extend the relief now - also with international staff members."
In the framework of a cargo flight to Yangon organised by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Malteser International will send further medical drugs to Myanmar on Saturday, 24 May. Therefore, the organisation has delivered another so called "Emergency Health Kit" to the airport in Cologne-Wahn from where an airplane of the German Federal Armed Forces will bring the relief goods to Yangon. Such a Kit contains among others antibiotics, dressing material, pain killers and further medicines, enabling Malteser International to take care of 10,000 survivors for three months.
Care Germany has delivered another "Emergency Health Kit" to the airport in Cologne and handed it over to Malteser International whose staff members will use them to treat more patients in Myanmar. "Malteser International as well as Care is member of 'Aktion Deutschland Hilft' (a Relief Coalition based in Bonn/Germany)," Ingo Radtke says. "Our aim is to combine the members' knowledge, experience and resources to provide fast and more efficient relief after major disasters. The fact that Care provides us with an Emergency Health Kit is one more proof for the good cooperation between the relief organisations."
The work of Malteser International is supported by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, by Caritas and by the German association "Schwerte Hilft e.V.". As Malteser International has been able to start the relief activities in the disaster area right after the Cyclone, they are now also bundling the assistance of other organisations and partners and implementing it.
For the continuation and the extension of its work, the organisation is in urgent need of dona-tions!
To support the work of Malteser International in Myanmar, please transfer your donations to:
Donation Account 120 120 120
Bank für Sozialwirtschaft, Wörthstr. 15 - 17, D-50668 Köln
Sort Code : 370 205 00
IBAN : DE49 3702 0500 0001 0258 01
BIC: BFSWDE33XXX
Reference : "Cyclone Nargis"
Attention editorial offices:
Ingo Radtke, Secretary General of Malteser International, is available for interviews.
Please contact: +49 - 221 9822-213.
Recent photos of the relief activities in Myanmar can be downloaded under: http://php.malteser.de/cpg133/thumbnails.php?album=198&page=1
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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