Joint Statement on Myanmar Disaster

13/05/2008

(Ottawa, ON, May 13) Members of the Canadian media. I am Kevin McCort, President and CEO of CARE Canada. I have with me here in the room Anthony Scoggins of Oxfam Canada and joining us by phone are Marquis Giguere of Oxfam Quebec and Nadine Grant of Save the Children Canada. Together we are the Humanitarian Coalition - aid agencies working together to more effectively and efficiently raise funds in order to respond to emergencies like the one we are seeing now in Myanmar.

I think you are all aware by now of what has happened in the country of Myanmar following the onslaught of Cyclone Nargis on Saturday, May 3. The devastation there has been terrible. Our field teams are reporting finding villages that used to house 400 people, where now only three are left alive. Towns of 10,000 with only 500 survivors. The survivors are huddling in schools and pagodas and temporary camps while the bodies of their dead family members continue to lie unburied in the flooded streets. In the days to come many of those who survived the storm will die of disease and starvation if they do not get aid. I think all Canadians are aware of these facts. What Canadians are not aware of is that relief operations are already underway in Myanmar. The picture painted by the media to date, which has focused on the difficulties bringing supplies and personnel into Myanmar from outside the country, has led Canadians to believe there is no capacity yet to help the people of Myanmar. Canadians are reluctant to give their financial support because they do not think their money can make a difference yet. We are here today to challenge that understanding. The four organizations with us here today alone represent over one thousand aid workers who are even now saving lives in Myanmar. Right now Save the Children and CARE are distributing food, finding sources of clean water, and establishing temporary camps for those who lost their homes in the storm. They are able to acquire many necessary supplies within Myanmar, but to do that they need financial support. So we are here today to appeal to Canadians: please keep giving to support the relief work in Myanmar. Your dollars do count now, and they will get to those who need them. Our organizations are able to purchase supplies and transport in Myanmar through our local staff and systems. We can guarantee that we will spend donations responsibly now and in the long-term. We also ask for the support of the Government of Canada. Humanitarian Coalition members have over 27 years of combined experience working in Myanmar. We know the country, we know the people, we know the government. We have the capacity to deliver aid effectively and efficiently, to reach those with the greatest need. So we are calling on the government to also invest in the capacity of NGOs who are best suited to deliver humanitarian aid. At this time I would like to acknowledge that the world is also now seeing a humanitarian crisis unfolding in China following the earthquake there. While the world does need to offer any assistance that China should need, we cannot let Myanmar cease to be a priority, to become a forgotten tragedy, simply because there is currently more media footage available from China. The scale of the disaster in Myanmar is such that it must remain our top priority. With that I would be pleased to open the floor. We are able to take any of your questions on what is happening right now in Myanmar, what our organizations are currently doing, and how Canadians can help. Kevin McCort President and CEO CARE Canada - 30 - Media Contact: Kieran Green, CARE Canada, Media Relations, The Humanitarian Coalition, , Cell: 613.799.7562