ERC Stephen O’Brien allocates US$9 million from CERF for rapid Myanmar flood relief

(New York, 7 August 2015) Major flooding and monsoon rains have affected more than 330,000 people in Myanmar in recent weeks, and at least 88 people have lost their lives. As the United Nations and humanitarian partners step up their support to national relief efforts, the Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien is releasing funds from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

The funding injection of US$9 million will allow aid organizations to rapidly scale up rapid response operations and provide some 160,000 people in Rakhine State, Chin State, Sagaing Region and Magway Region with life-saving assistance.

“These funds will help provide people with emergency shelter, safe water supply, sanitation; food; critical health care and other services, at a time when they are in desperate need,” noted USG O’Brien. “However, additional funding sources continue to be urgently needed as aid operations in Myanmar remain critically underfunded.”

CERF funds will not be enough to meet the urgent needs of all the communities affected by the floods. Further support is required now for life-saving assistance, as well as in the coming weeks and months to help people returning home rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

Agencies estimate that currently at least US$47 million is required to provide emergency response, although the number of affected people and the needs are expected to rise as the situation evolves. This funding requirement for the floods response is in addition to the $190 million Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan for the year, which is funded at 39 per cent.

Myanmar, where vulnerability levels are alarmingly high, was one of eight crises selected for support in the second allocation from this year’s Underfunded Emergencies (UFE) window. In that round, announced earlier this week, the Emergency Relief Coordinator set aside some US$5 million to sustain humanitarian programmes for neglected communities and displaced people across the country.

For more info, please contact:
Amanda Pitt, OCHA New York, +1 917 442 1810, pitta@un.org
Babita Bisht, CERF Secretariat, +1 917 225 1520, bisht1@un.org