Following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar and the broader region, the EU is channeling further assistance to strengthen relief efforts. Concretely, the EU has launched a Humanitarian Air Bridge operation, with the first flight departing from Copenhagen to Yangon.
The cargo of 80 tonnes of EU-owned supplies including tents, child protection kits, health and water and sanitation kits will be consigned to UNICEF. Supplies will be delivered to Mandalay for collection and distribution by EU partners.
Furthermore, following the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a team of 12 European experts from Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Luxembourg, and Norway is being deployed to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in the coming days to ensure assistance from EU Member States reaches those in need.
Sweden and the Netherlands have also offered to deploy other experts to another request, this time from the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environmental Unit. The EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre has also deployed a liaison officer to Bangkok to ensure coordination with partners on the ground.
To ensure support within the most critical hours after the disaster, the EU activated the Copernicus satellite service to facilitate impact assessment and released €2.5 million in humanitarian aid. The EU is also releasing an additional €500,000 contributing to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) emergency appeal.
Granting access to humanitarian organizations and ensuring they operate in a safe environment, as well as protecting civilians, is crucial to delivering life-saving aid.
