Relief agencies have joined with governments around the world in cautiously welcomed news Burmese authorities have agreed to open up the nation to international aid assistance.
Late last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the country’s leader, Senior General Than Shwe, had agreed to allow international aid workers into the worst affected areas within the country.
“I am encouraged by my discussions with Myanmar’s leadership in recent days,” Mr Ki-moon said on Sunday. “They have agreed on the need to act urgently. I hope and believe that any hesitation the Government of Myanmar may have had about allowing international humanitarian groups to operate freely in the affected areas is now a thing of the past.”
Around 50 nations attended a “pledging” conference in the weekend which was co-sponsored by the UN and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Donors pledged an additional $US50 million in aid
World Vision, which had representatives at the conference, has welcomed the news but organisation representatives have said they were keen to establish how it would include reaching people in the affected Delta Irrawaddy region.
Steve Goudswaard, manager of the organisation’s response to Cyclone Nargis, said that three weeks after the cyclone tore through Burma, the relief priorities remained the same.
“We need to get shelter food, water and healthcare to thousands affected by this disaster,” he said, adding that the next few days will be important in establishing how aid agencies will work within parameters established by the US, ASEAN and Burmese Government.
World Vision, which currently has 580 national and 11 international staff in the nation, says it has so far delivered initial aid to more than 220,000 people in both Rangoon and the Delta area and has established 41 child friendly spaces.
The UN say that up to 2.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in the country following the cyclone which struck in early May. The death toll has climbed to 78,000 people but 56,000 more are still missing according to official Government figures. British officials have said as many as 200,000 people may be dead and missing.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that less than a quarter of the estimated two million people in the 15 worst-affected townships in Burma have been reached so far.
