The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that it urgently needs over $8m (£6.2m) in aid to be able to respond to earthquake in Myanmar, where reports show around 2000 people have died and thousands are at risk of injuries and diseases.
The UN agency says it’s responding at its “highest level of emergency activation”, and donations are needed to “deliver life-saving trauma care, prevent disease outbreaks, and restore essential health services over the next 30 days.”
Meanwhile, Margaret Harris from the UN organization has said that hospitals in Myanmar, many of which have been damaged by the earthquake, are overwhelmed by the surge of casualties.
Read also: Military government says death toll from Myanmar earthquake climbs to over 2,000
She explained that at least three hospitals are completely out of service, while another 22 are “partially damaged and not really able to function, adding that besides attending to the injured, aid workers also have to deal with what Harris describes as the “perfect conditions” for outbreaks of diseases like cholera.
Another challenge, she adds, is dealing with Myanmar’s ruling military junta, which has previously been accused of withholding international aid to certain regions.
“It has always been a struggle,” Harris says, “but again that is our work, to negotiate those things”.
Story was adapted from the BBC.
