'Nargis' survivors get rice generated by internet

FreeRice.Com, in which 20 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) every time a person answers a question correctly, has already generated over 36 billion grains of rice  enough for more than 3.7 million meals.     

Two consignments of rice for Myanmar have been paid for by YUM! and Unilever, the latest companies to help fund the FreeRice initiative.     

WFP will be distributing the rice to many of the 755,000 people it is aiming to feed as part of relief efforts across Myanmar in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the South-east Asian nation on May 2 and 3.     

The disaster caused the greatest damage to the Irrawaddy Delta area and the country's most populous city, Yangon. Over 134,000 people are dead or missing as a result, and about 2.4 million people were affected and need humanitarian assistance.     

In recent weeks WFP has dispatched at least 11,000 tonne of food assistance in the country and now has 10 chartered helicopters flying in the Delta, enabling the delivery of vital relief supplies to those who need it most.     

Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organization said Myanmar's health system is "back on its feet" following last month's tragedy thanks to an all-out response by the government, the UN and the international community.     

Within the first 10 days of the disaster, medical supplies had been provided to all major hospitals. Since then, teams have fanned out beyond the major centres and were now examining patients in some of the remote areas, WHO said.     

At the same time, WHO said that a major health concern continues to be the quality and availability of water. The agency is disinfecting 6 million litres of water daily, enough for approximately 2 million people.