World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action : WABA

The Tsunami Tragedy

Greetings from the WABA Secretariat!

We thank you for all your kind email messages and telephone calls. We are all fine at the WABA Secretariat and also the IBFAN/ICDC office, but still recovering from the shock that such a disaster could strike our little island and cause so much damage.

We are also grieving for the families who have lost their loved ones and belongings in this tragedy. To date, in Malaysia the death toll is at 65 and Penang is the worst hit area with a death toll of 52. Rescue and Search
operations for missing people are still being carried out.

Those of us at the WABA secretariat staying in high rise buildings had felt the tremors and were told to evacuate our apartments. We were able to return later when it was all safe.

We pray for all the above families and persons who have suffered losses and we also pray for all the others in the affected countries including - Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Maldives, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Somalia & Kenya in Africa. Over 100,000 are believed to have died in the region and they come from over 30 countries.

Thank you all again for your kind messages. They mean a lot during such times.

For more information on the tragedy, please check out:-

Related Resources:-

*Fact Sheet on Feeding Babies in Emergencies
*Breastfeeding in Emergency Situations (Wellstart)
*Humanitarian Assistance/Emergencies (Presentation at WABA Global Forum 2)
*Infant Feeding in Emergencies: A Guide for Mothers(WHO)
*How to Breastfeed during an Emergency (WHO)
*Infant Feeding in Emergencies (IBFAN)
*Code Compliance, also in emergencies (IBFAN)
*ILCA's Position on Infant Feeding in Emergencies (ILCA)
*Breastfeeding in emergencies (Rehydration Project)
*Emergency Nutrition Network Online
*World Conference on Disaster Reduction
* UNICEF Documents:-
- Email from Miriam Labbok
- Basic Guidance on Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies
-Supporting families to optimally feed infants and young children in emergencies
- Call for support for appropriate infant and young child feeding in the current Asian emergency

How you can help:

Unicef is planning relief missions for all tsunami stricken countries.
The NST Malaysia Tsunami Disaster Fund
	The Star/ Maybank Tsunami Relief Fund