The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned this Wednesday that millions of boys and girls are at risk after Cyclone ‘Mocha’ passed through Burma and Bangladesh, having devastating effects in parts of these countries.
The UN agency indicated that millions of children are in a vulnerable situation, including some who are “already living in precarious conditions,” as indicated in a statement.
“Although the worst of the storm is over, the risk of landslides remains high, and risks are expected to increase in the coming days, including waterborne diseases,” the text said.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell has said that some of the world’s most vulnerable children and families “find themselves in a crisis they did not cause”. “The areas most affected by the storm are already home to communities suffering from conflict, poverty, instability, and climate and environmental disturbances,” he warned.
“As we urgently assess and respond to the immediate needs of children in the aftermath of this cyclone, we know with certainty that the best way to protect and improve the lives of children and their families is to find long-term solutions.”
For UNICEF, the situation is “particularly worrying” in Myanmar, where more than 16 million people, including 1.2 million internally displaced Rohingya communities, were in the cyclone’s path. “These are low-lying areas that are vulnerable to floods and landslides,” he said.
In Bangladesh, where the world’s largest refugee camp is located, one million Rohingya refugees suffered the worst of the severe storms, half of them children, as condemned by the United Nations.
Cyclone ‘Mocha’ along with tropical cyclone ‘Fani’ has become the strongest storm ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean in 2019. Scientists have recently discovered that “although disaster management efforts have reduced the number of deaths during cyclones in recent years, climate change is jeopardizing this progress,” he asserted.
In this sense, UNICEF has called for “timely and immediate access to humanitarian assistance in the affected areas in both countries”, which it has described as “fundamental”.
