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Population ▼
The population of Myanmar in 1996-97 is 47.3 Millions.
According to the 1995-96 national census with 80% Myanmars
and ethnic minority groups consisting of the Kachin, Kayah,
Kayin, Chin, Mon, Bamar, Rakhine, Shan and hill-tribes
making up the rest of the population. The overall population
density was 64 persons per sq. km (166 per sq. mi.), one of
the lowest in the Far East. The population is more than 75
percent rural; most of the urban areas are actually
agricultural villages.
The population of Myanmar is at present over 42,642,000. The
average household size is estimated at 3 or 4 people. As
regards education in Myanmar (according to the figure of
1993), the literacy rate stood at 81%. Yangon is the capital
of Myanmar and has a population of nearly 5 million. Other
cities with a large population are Mandalay, Mawlamyaing,
Bago and Pathein.
Population
affected by cyclone in Burma/Myanmar
Miscellaneous News
As many as
3.2 million Burmese are estimated to be affected by the
devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, according to
geographic risk models developed by researchers from the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Lehman
College, CUNY.
Using Geographic Information
Systems (GIS), the researchers calculated the likely
distribution of the population
of Burma (also known as Myanmar)
and developed maps of the regions at greatest risk from the
storm's effects. The maps and a summary of the current
humanitarian situation are available at
www.jhsph.edu/burmacyclone.
"We estimate that
20 percent of the population
in the four affected administrative divisions could be
affected by Cyclone Nargis," said Shannon Doocy, PhD, an
assistant professor with the Center for Refugee and Disaster
Response, who developed the vulnerability estimates with
colleagues from the Bloomberg School's Center for Public
Health and Human Rights, and from Lehman College. "These are
rough estimates, but our calculations could be of great help
to relief agencies that are trying to provide aid on the
ground."
According to the
calculations, the Ayeyarwady region was hardest hit, with
1.8 million people affected; another 1.1 million were
potentially affected in the Yangon administrative division.
At least 100,000 people in both the Bago East and Mon
divisions were also affected. The United Nations estimates
that as many as 220,000 are missing following the cyclone
and that 63,000 to 101,000 people were killed.
Major health
threats for cyclone survivors include waterborne diseases
such as typhoid, which has already been reported in some
areas and potential outbreaks of dysentery from cholera and
E. coli. Measles outbreaks, which are common in settings of
mass displacement, are a concern for children and a possible
threat. Mosquito-borne diseases, particularly malaria and
dengue fever, are prevalent in Burma and are also
significant health risks.
"Right now, the
risk of disease outbreaks in Burma is especially high-much
more so than we've typically seen with tropical cyclones in
past decades-because the humanitarian assistance so far has
been delayed and woefully inadequate in scale," said Chris
Beyrer, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Public Health
and Human Rights. "The military regime continues to rebuff
offers of assistance from the international community more
than a week after the storm, and they continue to restrict
visas, limit international observers, and insist upon
relying solely on its own response, which by all accounts,
is markedly inadequate." Beyrer added that international
guidelines on human rights and natural disasters cite the
right of all affected populations to evacuation and other
lifesaving measures, protection against negative impacts of
natural hazards, and access to adequate food, water,
shelter, sanitation and health services.
In addition
to estimating the population
vulnerability, the Bloomberg School is working with its
partners based in the region to provide assistance to the
Burmese people. Eight, five-person relief teams are working
in Rangoon, Burma's largest city, and in the country's delta
region. These teams, which are trained by Hopkins personnel
in rapid assessment and response, are assisting with water
purification and the distribution of food, clothing,
medicines and other
essentials.
The researchers
were supported by a grant from the Human and Social Dynamics
Program at the National Science Foundation.
http://www.jhsph.edu/burmacyclone
(
Source from :
http://www.news-medical.net )
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