Following the 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar, the EU is providing additional aid by launching a Humanitarian Air Bridge. The first flight departs today from Copenhagen to Yangon with 80 tonnes of EU supplies, including tents and health kits, for UNICEF. These will be collected in Mandalay and distributed by EU partners.
A team of 12 European experts is being deployed to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur to coordinate aid. Sweden and the Netherlands are sending additional experts for a UNEP/OCHA request. The EUs emergency center has sent an officer to Bangkok for coordination.
For rapid response, the EU activated the Copernicus satellite service for impact analysis and released €2.5 million in humanitarian aid. An additional €500,000 is released today for the IFRC emergency appeal.
It is crucial that humanitarian organizations can operate safely to deliver life-saving aid.
Background
The EU has been providing humanitarian aid to Myanmar since 1994, with total funding exceeding €446 million. This includes food, water, shelter, and education in emergencies.
Immediately after the earthquake, the EU released €2.5 million as the first international donor. This is in addition to the €33 million previously allocated, bringing the total to over €35 million.
EU aid is delivered through trusted humanitarian organizations, in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.
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