Burma (Myanmar)
Emergency Relief for Cyclone Nargis Victims

On 2nd and 3rd May 2008, a massive cyclone, known as Cyclone Nargis, smashed into the Irawaddy Delta region of Burma. Up to 150,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless, injured and in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

WER worked together with ADRA Burma, a local NGO which forms part of the WHO Health Cluster in Burma, to deliver essential medical and pharmaceutical supplies for emergency mobile clinics in the Labutta region of the Irawaddy delta, an area severely devastated by the cyclone.

Thanks to WER's policy of working in close partnership with locally established organisations, we were able to quickly and accurately assess the emergency needs of affected communities and WER was one of the very first international aid agencies to be granted permission by the Burmese authorities to import emergency aid into the country following the cyclone.

More than fifty percent of hospitals and medical facilities in Labutta were entirely destroyed by the cyclone and reports from ADRA Burma to WER indicated that medical supplies were in desperately short supply in the region.

WER delivered four consignments of medical and pharmaceutical supplies, including Doctors Emergency Medical Packs (DEMPs), to Burma throughout May, June and July 2008.

Each Doctor Emergency Medical Pack (DEMP) contains basic antibiotic, antiseptic and general medical supplies specifically selected for emergency situations and provides approximately 1500 treatments. The packs are specifically prepared so that doctors and nurses can quickly have basic supplies available while they make assessments for additional specific medical requirements, including pharmaceuticals, medicines and water purification supplies.

The supplies were donated to WER by major European manufacturers through International Health Partners (IHP).

ADRA Burma medical teams visited over 100 villages in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and provided emergency treatment to more than 10,000 injured people through mobile medical clinics. Three hospitals in Labutta District, which has a population of more than 800,000, also received medical and pharmaceutical supplies from WER