(PORTLAND, ORE - May 6, 2008) With more than 22,000 people confirmed dead and nearly 1 million reported homeless in Myanmar, Medical Teams International is preparing to send medical supplies and possible volunteers and staff to the devastated region.
Four days after the cyclonethe country's deadliest disaster since 1991the need for medicines and medical care mounts as families scramble to find food, shelter and clean water. As the number of homeless shelters increases, so does the incidence of malaria, tuberculosis and the risk of cholera outbreaks.
"Our medical supplies are ready to go and our volunteers on standby," says Brian Heidel, director of regional programs for Medical Teams International and author of the book, The Growth of Civil Society in Myanmar. "The country already is hampered by one of the poorest medical care systems in the world. Cyclone Nargis has further decimated its ability to respond to this tragedy."
Medical Teams International is gathering antibiotics, bandages, pain relievers and surgical supplies for shipment to Yangon, home to the country's rice bowl and near the center of Friday's horrific storm. Heavy rains and wind have leveled hospitals and clinics in the region and destroyed medicines and supplies.
Downed electricity and phone lines along with impassable roads are challenging relief agencies from getting aid to the cyclone region. Myanmar's military-ruled government strongly regulates foreign visitors and aid, complicating the task for Medical Teams International to send volunteers and supplies to the country.
"This cyclone is one of the worst natural disasters to hit Myanmar," adds Heidel. "Many people are suffering. It's important to get help to these families immediately."
To donate to the Myanmar Cyclone Relief Fund, please call 1-800-959-4325, give online at our secure Web site www.medicalteams.org or mail gifts to PO Box 10, Portland, OR 97207. Donations can also be made at any U.S. Bank branch.
Founded in 1979 as Northwest Medical Teams, Medical Teams International is a non-profit humanitarian relief and development organization that exists to demonstrate the love of Christ to people affected by disaster, conflict and poverty around the world Since 1979, Medical Teams International has deployed more the 1,700 volunteer teams and shipped more than $1 billion in antibiotics, surgical kits and lifesaving medicines to care for 35 million people in 100 countries.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A man shops for a torch at a market in Hling Thar Yar on the outskirts of Yangon, May 6, 2008, after Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar's main city on Saturday. ...
