As Myanmar reels from a devastating earthquake, the humanitarian situation is growing increasingly dire - entire communities have been reduced to rubble, infrastructure is shattered and tens of thousands remain in urgent need of aid.
The UN World Food Programme ( WFP ) swiftly launched relief operations, but ongoing conflict and funding shortfalls pose serious challenges.
Speaking from Mandalay, near the quake's epicentre, Michael Dunford, WFP Country Director, described the destruction as overwhelming.
"As you drive through the streets, you can see very quickly just the impact of this terrible, terrible earthquake… you hear awful stories that really speak to the need for the international community to respond and respond quickly."
With food, shelter, and medical aid in critically short supply, WFP and other agencies are calling for immediate funding to sustain relief efforts.
"Without funding, we cannot do what we need to do… we cannot meet the needs of the people of Myanmar." Mr. Dunford warned.
In an interview with UN News, he detailes the immense challenges facing survivors and aid workers, the impact of ongoing conflict and why urgent global action is needed to prevent further tragedy.
Read the full interview below. The text has been edited for brevity and clarity.
UN News: You are right now in Mandalay, which is near the epicentre of Friday's destructive earthquake. Can you describe what you are seeing right now and hearing from the people there?
Michael Dunford: What I am seeing is devastation. I was actually in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday when the earthquake struck. It was a terrifying experience. We ended up under a table, desperately hoping that the roof was not going to cave in on us. Immediately after, we cleared the building. We started to think about how we were going to respond to the needs of the people of Myanmar.
WFP started our first distributions in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital, two days ago, within 48 hours of the earthquake itself. And today I have driven from Nay Pyi Taw first to Sagaing city, which was the actual epicentre, and now I am in Mandalay, which is probably the second largest city and the city that has had the greatest impact from the quake itself.
As you drive through the streets, you see very quickly the impact of this terrible earthquake…you hear awful stories that speak to the need for the international community to respond and respond quickly
UN News: You drove through Sagaing today as you said. How did you see the situation there?
Mr. Dunford: Look, as you drive through the streets, you can see very quickly just the impact of this terrible, terrible earthquake. Buildings are down, infrastructure is disrupted, and you arrive at the feeding sites and you meet the beneficiaries, you meet the people who have been impacted and you hear their stories, and it is devastating.
Today, WFP was feeding the survivors of a mosque that crashed - collapsed - many people lost loved ones, and WFP was providing basic support to those who had lost their breadwinners. Awful stories to hear and it really speak to the need for the international community to respond and respond quickly and for the donors to respond generously.
UN News: There have been several aftershocks since Friday. Have they caused additional damage or hampered your efforts?
Mr. Dunford: I was actually at a distribution point this afternoon, probably around 5 o'clock, and there was a tremor. And immediately people scrambled for safety and got down onto the ground. Fortunately, it was not so severe, but you can sense that everyone is on edge.
We understand that there were two hotels that collapsed in Mandalay last night. A couple of days after the initial earthquake, people went back into hotels, and with these additional tremors, fatalities are still occurring.
Many people are still sleeping out in the open on the streets or in the parks because they are too scared to go back into their homes. And of course, this is hampering our efforts to reach them and to provide the type of support that they need.
UN News: For your immediate response, what are the key priorities?
Mr. Dunford: From a WFP perspective, of course, it is food and nutrition. We are also gearing up the interagency logistics cluster, and we are looking to see whether we also need to activate the emergency telecoms cluster. In addition, there is a desperate need for health, WASH (water and sanitation) and of course shelter.
UN News: What about other actors engaged in the response? Are there other international agencies on the ground, local partners?
Mr. Dunford: Sure, we are now sharing common offices with the likes of UNICEF (UN Children's Fund), UNHCR (Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees), WHO (the World Health Organization) and OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).
We are working with national and local NGOs because they know the context, they know the environment and they know - most importantly - the people we are supporting
Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also mobilizing, particularly national and local NGOs, so we are working with them because of course they know the context, they know the environment and they know - most importantly - the people we are supporting.
It is really a holistic effort to respond. It is a difficult situation. You have to remember that even before this crisis, Myanmar was a country already in crisis. At the beginning of the year, we estimated that over 19 million people needed humanitarian assistance, over 15 million were acutely hungry, and another 3.5 million were internally displaced.
UN News: Talking about the conflict. How is the conflict affecting aid delivery, particularly in remote areas or areas contested between the different armed groups?
Mr. Dunford: First and foremost, the conflict has made this country very, very vulnerable. As I mentioned, the humanitarian needs are considerable. And it continues to make our work very difficult.
There have been approaches to the authorities requesting, first and foremost, an end to the conflict, at a minimum a ceasefire during this period when we all need to be able to respond. We are requesting unhindered humanitarian access. We need to be able to reach affected populations, conduct assessments, and launch our response quickly.
UN News: Even before this disaster, WFP and other agencies were already struggling with funding issues. Now, with the US and other donors scaling back, how much of an impact do you foresee on relief efforts, and what does this mean for long-term response?
Mr. Dunford: Well, without funding, we cannot do what we need to do. And without funding we cannot meet the needs of the people of Myanmar.
In fact, the meeting that I was holding at the time of the earthquake on Friday was looking at our funding situation, how we would be forced to scale back our operations and even what the implications for our staffing would be.
Without funding, we cannot do what we need to do…we cannot meet the needs of the people of Myanmar
UN News: We spoke about the affected communities and your response. What about the UN staff, especially the national staff in Myanmar? Have they been impacted by this?
Mr. Dunford: Thankfully, from WFP's perspective, no one has been seriously injured and to my knowledge, no direct family members have been either. That is a huge relief. Just over dinner, I was saying how devastating it would have been if we had lost someone from our team.
But many people in Myanmar have not been so fortunate. There are thousands who are grieving lost family members. The current estimated death toll is close to 3,000, but some fear it could rise to 10,000.
And behind every one of those numbers, there is a story. Behind every story, there are family members left behind. This is a terrible tragedy - on top of the tragedy that Myanmar has endured for the past four years.
