

This is Kenya’s Hell’s Gate National Park, the doors to which open to a much needed energy oasis for this developing African country. Nestled amongst the cliff walls that formerly contained a prehistoric lake, a seemingly primordial vapor rises, pungent with the smell of sulphur. Once the cradle of humanity several millennia ago, Africa’s rift valley is again about to give birth to something new. Sources: Unicef 1, Unicef 2, Reuters, BBC, Al Jazeera Of course, much more funding is required in order to meet the needs of all of Myanmar’s people. Similarly, they have distributed 6,000 hygiene kits for 30,000 people. They have provided 860,000 water purification tablets, which are enough for 57,000 people for just over two weeks. Though perhaps operating on a tight budget, UNICEF has still accomplished a substantial amount. With this taken into account, Myanmar still needs far more foreign aid than it has received. Early in 2015, the organization requested $24.9 million to assist children in Rakhine state but only managed to garner a mere $5.6 million. While this sum is by no means worthless, it pales in comparison to the region’s aid requirements even before the disasters. So far UNICEF has requested $9.2 million in funds for humanitarian aid for children in Myanmar.

In one of the most devastated areas, Chin State, UNICEF has worked to provide stranded refugees with access to latrines constructed from local resources.
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Shalini Bahuguna also added that “We are working with the Government to get emergency messages out to local communities through radio, to tell people how to prevent water borne diseases.” They have sent teams of officials to survey the destruction and to provide water purification, hygiene and health supplies to those in need. The Myanmar government in tandem with UNICEF and other UN agencies has worked recently to mitigate the damages caused by natural disasters. UN officials have struggled to access townships in the region due to the destruction of infrastructure.

However, even these numbers are not entirely comprehensive. Currently 140,000 children and families have been forced to out of their homes and must live in camps designed only for short-term use. In addition to floods, the Cyclone Komen touched down causing even more destruction. Of the four most devastated states, Rakhine seems the worst off. According to UNICEF Deputy Representative in Myanmar Shalini Bahuguna, “The floods are hitting children and families who are already very vulnerable, including those living in camps in Rakhine State…Beyond the immediate impact, the floods will have a longer term impact on the livelihoods of these families.” These states face what the UN has dubbed a ‘double catastrophe,’ both extreme poverty and natural disaster.Ĭhildren comprise a substantial 34 percent of Myanmar’s population and are among the worst victims of this disaster. Sadly these regions were also some of the most impoverished and vulnerable in “a country where nearly 70 percent of people live close to the $2/day poverty threshold,” according to UNICEF. The national government stated that all four had become natural disaster zones. However, some are worse off than others.įour regions in particular, Chin, Sagaing, Magwe and Rakhine have experienced the worst of the floods. The floods have had a widespread impact on Myanmar with all but two of the country’s 14 states affected by rains.

There has also been an agricultural toll water has flooded more than 1 million acres of rice fields and destroyed more than 150,000 acres. In total, the natural disaster has critically affected almost 1 million people and killed at least 103. Since June, this Southeast Asian country has experienced some of its worst flooding in decades. With every annual monsoon season comes the floods, yet this year has been different. Flooding is usually just a normal part of life in Myanmar.
