By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The United Nations said on Friday $77 million has now been pledged to provide humanitarian relief to storm-stricken Burma.
Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, earlier issued an appeal for $187 million to carry out relief operations in Burma, where an estimated 1.5 million people are homeless and the number of dead is approaching 100,000 or more.
Holmes said the money pledged so far would cover the needs of at least 1.5 million homeless people for the next six months. The lead donors were Japan and Britain, which pledged $10 million each.
A total of $20 million was immediately allocated to build up relief supplies to be shipped to the country in the coming weeks.
In all, representatives of more than two dozen donor countries spoke on the cyclone disaster, reelecting a global consensus on the need to distribute aid as quickly as possible.
Responding to the issues of access and cooperation, the Burmese Ambassador to the UN, Kyaw Tint Swe, said his country is ready to cooperate with the international community and receive aid from all quarters. He said it must be orderly. Burmese officials have said that it will not allow foreign aid workers to distribute relief supplies.
UN officials said the cyclone’s death toll could be between 63,000 and 100,000. Officially, the Burmese government has put the figure at around 23,000.
UN officials said the challenge is not just to get the aid and trained relief workers to the airport in Rangoon, but to get material into the Irrawaddy delta, an area that is now flooded and without electricity, communications, safe drinking water, food and medicine.
Homes said it was disappointing that Myanmar authorities were not ready to receive foreign aid workers. Being optimistic, he said he hoped it meant they were not ready at present, but would be in the future.
Referring to the few visas that have been issued to aid workers by the Burmese authorities, he said it was obviously not a blanket ban.
Authorities should have an "open house" for international humanitarian aid workers, whether from the United Nations, individual countries or private groups, he said.
Responding to a question, he said it is not impossible or unusual for a government to be involved in the distribution of humanitarian assistance.
"There is no absolute blanket principle that the UN does not allow governments to be involved in distribution," he said.
Medical aid from the World Health Organization and UNICEF is currently being distributed by the Myanmar Ministry of Health through its health system, and that is perfectly normal, he said.
The current issue is about the degree of control and monitoring possible for the distribution, he said. Earlier, the Japanese ambassador to the UN, Yukio Takasu, urged Burma to accept aid workers and relief supplies as soon as possible.
"Speed is essential,” he said. “This will definitely help the government save people who are desperately in need of help."
The Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN said China urges member nations not to politicize the disaster relief process. Chinese relief efforts have had no problems with the junta with regard to visas and customs, he said. Blaming the Burmese government for blocking aid is not justified, he said.
"They have enough people to carry on relief operation,” he said. “I see the local government has been effective. They are doing decent distribution."
Speaking on behalf of Asean, the Singapore Ambassador, Gopala Menon, said the humanitarian disaster requires an unprecedented humanitarian response.
Menon said Singapore has contributed $200,000 in emergency supplies; Thailand and Indonesia have dispatched plane loads of supplies valued at $1 million each and the Philippines is preparing to send a 15-man medical mission.
Vietnam has provided $90,000 in donations; Cambodia $50,000; and Malaysia $350,000.
Asean has established an emergency humanitarian relief fund, which recently received its first donation of $100,000 from the Nippon Foundation.
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