QRCS delegation visits Rakhine State in Myanmar

Source thepeninsulaqatar, 17 may

Qatar Red Crescent Society volunteers interview people in Rakhine State.

DOHA: A team assigned by Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) to Myanmar to take stock of the humanitarian situation on ground like healthcare, shelter, water and sanitation, and food, has returned to Doha.

It also assessed the needs and work of QRCS's mobile clinics programme launched in 2013 in response to clashes in Rakhine State.

The clinics, each equipped with a doctor, an assistant, three nurses and local volunteers, continue to offer primary healthcare, health education, and hygiene promotion for target communities.

During a week-long visit to the country, the team also observed the shelter, sewage and water supply conditions in camps and towns and interviewed affected families in four towns and four camps, QRCS said in a statement. The team also held discussions in six targeted districts with local community and camp management committees, through interpreters provided by Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS).

To avoid duplication and ensure coordination with local and international partners, the team held meetings with World Health Organisation (WHO); Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); Danish Refugee Council (DRC); and the Department of Health in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine. At the end of the mission, the team delivered a generator to MRCS as a contribution from QRCS to build capacity of its host counterpart in catering for the needs of beneficiaries.

The current humanitarian needs include shelter solutions, extension of health care services, and capacity-building for the local community, especially as the monsoon season approaches. Another aspect of intervention is livelihood support to enable the affected population restore their normal life.

QRCS is developing a strategy to enhance humanitarian services there. QRCS's mission began late in 2012 to help victims of conflict in Rakhine.

Some 84,000 people benefited from QRCS's relief programmes.