UN concerns about a possible health crisis in Myanmar after the devastating earthquake

UN officials expressed their fears of a possible health crisis in Myanmar after the devastating earthquake that struck the country with a capacity of 7.7 on the Richter scale, last Friday, leaving thousands of victims of deaths, injuries and missing persons.

Fernando Thoshara, a representative of the World Health Organization in Myanmar, warned that the lack of water suitable for drinking and sanitation may lead to the outbreak of infectious diseases such as cholera and dengue fever, which complicates the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

For his part, Tom Fletcher, Undersecretary of the Secretary -General of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs, confirmed that the response to the catastrophe faces great challenges due to the lack of financing and grave damage to the infrastructure, which hinders the delivery of aid to the affected people.

Fletcher called for providing the necessary funding for relief efforts, noting that the current aid is insufficient and must be guaranteed safely and unrestricted with the protection of civilians.

Julia Reese, Deputy representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), also indicated that many societies were completely destroyed, as thousands of children and families live in the open, and suffer from a severe food and water shortage.

This earthquake comes at a time when Myanmar suffers from an acute humanitarian crisis, as the affected areas host 1.6 million displaced people as a result of the ongoing conflict since 2021. The catastrophe increased the suffering of 20 million people in need of humanitarian aid, while more than 15 million people suffer from hunger.

The health sector in Myanmar is witnessing tremendous pressure with the arrival of thousands of wounded to hospitals, which suffer from a lack of medical supplies and the interruption of electricity and water, which threatens to spread infectious diseases.

Local search and rescue teams, with the support of international units from several countries, are working to intensify their efforts to reach the survivors under the rubble of destroyed buildings as a result of the earthquake, especially in the most affected areas.