Setting Up an Emergency Field Hospital in Myanmar
UPDATE: Our DC-8 aircraft landed in Myanmar on Saturday 5 April, loaded with an Emergency Field Hospital. The Disaster Assistance Response Team that was also on board is currently setting up the multi-tent facility just outside a stadium in Naypyidaw so we can begin seeing earthquake-affected patients soon.
Read More: Performing Surgeries in Myanmar
Nearly 100 injured patients wait inside a stadium in Naypyidaw for surgery.
Disaster Assistance Response Team members are briefed on the need for their services in Myanmar.
A chartered 747 left Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday 6 April, with more than 104 tonnes of additional relief supplies for the nation of Myanmar. The load included additional components of the Emergency Field Hospital, six water filtration units, emergency shelter material, hygiene kits, jerry cans, solar lights, household water filters, blankets, mosquito nets, and other supplies.
Please continue to pray for the people of Myanmar in the wake of this disaster and for Samaritan’s Purse teams as we serve them in Jesus’ Name.
Disaster response specialists work late into the night to set up the Emergency Field Hospital.
Samaritan’s Purse is responding to the deadly 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar and Thailand on March 28. It was followed just 12 minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock. This powerful quake has caused widespread destruction—collapsing hundreds of buildings and damaging other infrastructure, killing more than 3,000 people, and injuring countless more. The Ministry of Health in Myanmar has requested assistance as tens of thousands are suffering. Local medical facilities are overwhelmed; many are without clean water and proper sanitation, making the spread of disease a dire risk.
In response to this disaster, Samaritan’s Purse immediately mobiliSed our Disaster Assistance Response Team, including deploying team members from our Vietnam and Cambodian field offices. We are sending an Emergency Field Hospital to provide life-saving care. The Emergency Field Hospital will include two operating theatres, an emergency room, in-patient wards, a pharmacy, and a laboratory—the largest model of this scalable unit.
In Calgary, the Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 aircraft was loaded with the Emergency Field Hospital components that will serve earthquake survivors in Myanmar.
The Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 cargo plane departed Greensboro, North Carolina, for Myanmar on March 31. It stopped in Calgary, Canada, where it was fully loaded with an Emergency Field Hospital from our Canadian affiliate office. In addition to airlifting the first wave of the field hospital, the DC-8 is also transporting 25 disaster response specialists, including doctors and nurses. The DC-8 is currently en route to Southeast Asia.
“This devastating earthquake has rocked Myanmar,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “Now, families are grieving the loss of loved ones and many are left with nothing— sleeping outside in the elements as aftershocks continue. Samaritan’s Purse is responding in Jesus’ Name to bring relief to those who are hurting. Please pray for all those affected and for our teams as they serve.”
In the coming days, Samaritan’s Purse will also airlift additional components of the large-scale field hospital, water filtration systems, emergency shelter material, flashlights, and hygiene kits. The organisation is working closely with local authorities and responders on the ground to coordinate relief efforts.
Our DC-8 left Canada with initial components of the Emergency Field Hospital, which will ultimately include two operating theatres, an emergency room, in-patient wards, a pharmacy, and a laboratory.
Samaritan’s Purse has a long history in Myanmar, having responded to Cyclone Nargis in 2008 and maintained a country office there from 2017 to 2022. Through its Operation Christmas Child programme, the organisation has continued serving children and families in Myanmar—sending more than 22,000 shoebox gifts last year alone.
This quake is the strongest to hit the region in over a century. Please pray for so many who are reeling in the wake of this sudden disaster.
Support Myanmar Response
Can send critical provisions such as food, hygiene kits, and shelter kits to survivors.
Can provide essential medical supplies, enabling us to treat those wounded in the earthquake.
Can support our Emergency Field Hospital as it provides life-saving care in Jesus’ Name.
