UNITED NATIONS, May 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UNFPA, the United
Nations Population Fund, is appealing for $3 million to address the urgent
humanitarian concerns of cyclone-affected populations, particularly women
and girls, in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady and Yangon regions.



    The amount is being sought as part of a joint flash appeal to be
launched by the United Nations today. Tens of thousands of pregnant women
made homeless by the cyclone urgently need lifesaving assistance. UNFPA is
working with humanitarian partners to mobilize emergency reproductive
health supplies, including safe delivery kits, for those affected.



    Disasters like Cyclone Nargis put expectant mothers and their babies at
special risk because of the sudden loss of medical support, compounded by
trauma, malnutrition and disease. Among the estimated 1.5 million people
severely affected by the storm, one in five women of childbearing age is
likely to be pregnant; around 15 per cent of them will suffer from
complications during labour.



    Teams from United Nations and non-governmental agencies are assessing
the needs for food, water, sanitation, shelter and health among the
displaced. As part of the coordinated international response, UNFPA will
send supplies to make deliveries safer. These include individual kits
containing a clean razor blade, a string for cutting and tying the
umbilical cord, a plastic sheet, a bar of soap, and a blanket to keep the
newborn warm. This would save infants and prevent life-threatening
post-delivery infections in mothers who cannot reach a medical facility.



    Medicines and equipment will also be sent to help health workers take
care of women with complicated pregnancies. These include intravenous drip
sets, antibiotics, painkillers, syringes, sterile gloves and small
sterilizing machines.



    In the emergency projects outlined in today's flash appeal, UNFPA will
work with key United Nations organizations and local and international
partners to:



    --  Assist the Ministry of Health and other health partners to improve
        access to basic health services for displaced and host communities;
    --  Provide emergency reproductive health assistance - including delivery
        and emergency obstetric care for pregnant women, equipment to maintain a
        safe blood supply, and family planning;
    --  Help prevent and respond to cases of sexual and gender-based violence
        among the displaced; and
    --  Safeguard the personal hygiene and dignity of displaced women, girls,
        boys and men by providing them with essential hygiene supplies.




    UNFPA is working closely with partners, including MERCY Malaysia, to
provide additional support on the ground. The Fund is also working with the
Myanmar Red Cross Society to establish services to meet the most basic
reproductive health requirements, before comprehensive services can be
provided when conditions permit it.



    UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international
development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to
enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in
using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to
ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young
person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with
dignity and respect.

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