Myanmar needs 691 million dollars for post-cyclone recovery plan

Bangkok - Myanmar will need nearly 700 million dollars in international aid over the next three years for ongoing relief efforts in the Irrawaddy Delta, where Cyclone Nargis left 140,000 people dead or missing last year, the United Nations said Monday. 'This is a small requirement in proportion to the magnitude of the disaster,' said Bishow Parajuli, United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar. The amount of relief aid needed and projects designed for the victims of Cyclone Nargis was documented in the The Post-Nargis Response and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP), released in Bangkok on Monday. The report was prepared jointly by the Tripartite Core Group - a team comprising UN agencies, Myanmar government officials and representatives from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) that has handled the international relief aid efforts for the Myanmar disaster over the past nine months. Parajuli pointed out that the international community provided 5.14 billion dollars in disaster relief to Aceh, Indonesia, for the first three years after the December 26, 2004, tsunami that devastated the province in northern Sumatra, whereas total aid for Cyclone Nargis would amount to only one-fifth of that. Cyclone Nargis smashed into Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta on May 2-3, 2008, killing up to 140,000 people and leaving 2.4 million in desperate need of food, shelter, water and medicines in an area that has been essentially cut off from international aid for decades. Initial efforts by the international community to provide relief to the Irrawaddy population were impeded by the country's ruling junta, who were reluctant to allow a massive influx of aid workers during the same month that they were holding a sensitive referendum on a new constitution that cemented military rule in Myanmar. The international community was torn between the need to succor the victims of the cyclone and its antipathy and annoyance with Myanmar's regime, a pariah among Western democracies. Assistance during the first year, although sufficient to meet the basic requirements, fell short of the UN appeal in April, 2008, for 477 million dollars. During the first nine months some 309 million was provided. Results have been generally good, especially in getting agriculture back on its feet. Total food production in Myanmar declined only 3 per cent last year, compared with the country's five-year average. 'If you have a look at the rice production in the last year, the areas in the eastern part of the delta really were quite significant,' World Food Programme (WFP) representative for Myanmar Christopher Kaye said. 'I met farmers who actually produced more per hectare last year than the previous year, largely because of inputs they received in terms of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides,' he said. The success of the relief effort has been largely attributed to the facilitating work of the Tripartite Core Group, which is chaired by Kyaw Thu, also chairman of the Civil Service Section nd Training Board. Kyaw Thu lost his post as deputy foreign minister last week, sparking rumours that he would soon be losing his position as chair of the TCG as well. The rumours raised concerns among the international aid community as Kyaw Thu was deemed reasonable and accomodating, especially in the granting of visas for aid workers. 'He assured us that he had been assigned by the senior leadership to continue with the TCG chair,' UN representative Parajuli said after a meeting in Bangkok that included Kyaw Thu.