- April 10, 2025
- Posted by: humanitarianweb
- Category: Humanitarian News
- 900 solar-powered lights + 300 water filters deployed to affected earthquake areas
- More supplies such as hygiene kits, jerrycans, mosquito nets for 8,000 households
- Coordination of ambulance service for emergency medical response with SGEMT Field Hospital
Singapore, 10 April 2025 – The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) has committed an additional tranche of humanitarian supplies to provide urgent relief to the communities affected by the devastating earthquake in Myanmar. This includes hygiene kits for families; women’s hygiene kits; jerrycans for the collection, distribution and safe storage of clean water and plastic mats, mosquito nets, and tarpaulins. These supplies are expected to support approximately 8,000 households across affected regions. In addition, the SRC has also dispatched close to 300 water filters to regions such as Mandalay and Sagaing to improve access to clean safe drinking water, and nearly 900 solar-powered lights to support communities without power. Together, these contributions are worth an estimated SGD550,000, and are expected to benefit around 80,000 persons.
A 3-person SRC team is now in Yangon, Myanmar, to assess the evolving humanitarian situation in Myanmar and to coordinate further relief efforts. Comprising 2 SRC staff and 1 volunteer, the team is working closely with the Myanmar Red Cross (MRC), IFRC, and ICRC to identify urgent needs and determine how SRC can best support the affected communities.
To support the emergency medical response by the Singapore Emergency Medical Team (SGEMT), SRC worked in close coordination with MRC to deploy MRC volunteers and two ambulances to support the transfer of patients between the SGEMT Field Hospital and the Mandalay General Hospital.
Additionally, the SRC has been coordinating closely with Changi Regional HADR Coordination Centre (RHCC), ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and the MRC to consolidate humanitarian aid from Singapore, working together with other non-government organisations such as Mercy Relief and Relief Singapore, to be delivered to Myanmar. Since the earthquake, there have been 2 shipments – one on the Changi RHCC flight, which included the SRC water filters, and another with an AHA Centre flight that carried more water filters and solar-powered lights.
Summary of SRC’s Efforts for the Affected Communities of the Myanmar Earthquake
SRC had earlier deployed an initial SGD150,000 to support emergency relief efforts in Central Myanmar, addressing the immediate needs, including the distribution of essential supplies, such as food, water, blankets, tarpaulins, and hygiene kits. On top of this, SRC had also deployed 90 pre-positioned water filters in Myanmar to the earthquake affected region. To date, the SRC has disbursed close to SGD$700,000 worth of life-saving humanitarian aid.
Beyond aid on the ground, the SRC has also extended support to affected communities in Singapore. Two walk-in “safe spaces” were set up at the Red Cross House to provide psychosocial and mental health support to Myanmar and Thais residing in Singapore, whose loved ones were affected by the earthquake. Trained SRC volunteers were also on standby to share about “Restoring Family Links” (RFL), a tracing service to assist Singapore residents to locate their immediate family members who may have been affected by the disaster with whom they have difficulty in contacting.
Thanks to the Government and the People of Singapore, SRC has raised over SGD2.7M for humanitarian relief through the public fundraising appeal.