\n<\/p>\n
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is just one of the UN agencies working to help the most vulnerable in worst-hit central areas, but much more help is needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it rains, they can’t sleep, and when the rain stops, they still can’t sleep because they feared the wind might have their only shelter away,\u201d<\/strong> said Dr Thushara Fernando, WHO representative in Myanmar.<\/p>\n In an update from Yangon, the WHO medic warned that the risk of waterborne disease \u201cis becoming a reality\u201d<\/strong> for all those still living under plastic sheeting with stagnant water all around.<\/p>\n A cholera outbreak<\/strong> was already reported in Mandalay just a few months ago.<\/p>\n Survivors \u201cfeed their babies, they eat, they drink in their tents; they don’t have even a simple mosquito net to sleep under in the night,\u201d Dr Fernando continued.<\/p>\n \u201cWater sources are contaminated, temporary toilet facilities are overwhelmed, and acute watery diarrhoea has been reported in two areas,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n Two major earthquakes hit central Myanmar on 28 March killing at least 3,700 people<\/strong>. About 5,100 more were injured and 114 are still missing, according to WHO. The true toll is likely much higher because of underreporting.<\/p>\n Survivors and aid teams have experienced more than 140 aftershocks \u2013 some as high as magnitude 5.9 \u2013 which have added to widespread trauma and impeded humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n To help, the UN health agency has delivered around 170 tonnes of emergency medical supplies <\/strong>to help 450,000 people for three months.<\/p>\n WHO is also coordinating more than 220 emergency medical teams<\/strong> in earthquake affected areas and it has launched a targeted dengue prevention initiative in coordination with national and local partners.<\/p>\n This includes the distribution of about 4,500 rapid diagnostic test kits for frontline responders and hundreds of insecticide-treated nets to protect people in the hardest-hit areas, such as Mandalay.<\/p>\n The March 2025 earthquake caused widespread destruction Mandalay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The WHO medic said that the agency continues to help deliver a range of services, albeit at a \u201cvery limited\u201d scale. This includes trauma care, mental health and psychosocial support, along with maternal and child health services and non-communicable disease prevention.<\/p>\nAftershocks continue<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Critical moment<\/strong><\/h2>\n