|
DFID: Cyclone Nargis, Burma
(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
RDATE:19052008
Headlines
ASEAN meeting of Foreign Ministers concludes with agreement to
establish an ASEAN-led coordinating mechanism. A task force, to be
headed by ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, will work closely
with the UN as well as a central coordinating body to be set up by
Burma, to realise this ASEAN-led mechanism.
Estimates say that a quarter of the people in most need have been
reached with international emergency relief.
Lord Malloch-Brown has visited a cyclone- affected area on the
outskirts of Rangoonas well as meeting Burmese, UN and NGO officials
State media is reporting 78,000 dead and 56,000 missing; Red Cross
estimates that between 69,000 and 128,000 people have been killed
A total of $41 million has been contributed to the UN Flash Appeal
against a total of $201 million and $96m pledged.
21 aid flights landed in Burmaover the weekend and eight landed today.
Save the Children says some '30,000 children under the age of five in
the cyclone-affected area were acutely malnourished before the cyclone
hit on May 2; of those children, the NGO believes several thousand are
at risk of death in the next two to three weeks due to a lack of food'
Reports that extensive damage to agriculture risks the loss of the
November harvest as the planting season ends within five to seven
weeks; estimates report that more than US$10m of seeds is needed
Estimates suggest that more than 550,000 people in Irrawaddyand Rangoon
Divisions are sheltering in temporary settlements
Health concerns are rising including the need for basic medical
assistance and psycho-social care
Capacity at Rangoonairport to receive, process and clear flights is
still limited
HMS Westminster is stationed 12 miles off the Burmese coast and will
remain there as part of the UK's humanitarian contingency plans
Information still very thin about the true picture on the ground
DFID Response:
DFID continues to liaise with NGOs and the UN on the emergency response.
DFID has committed a total of GBP17m to fund the humanitarian response,
the largest pledge to Burma. Our aid is being channelled through the
UN, Red Cross and NGOs operating on-the-ground including:
Save the Children
Medecins Sans Frontieres
Merlin
Care
Action Against Hunger
British Red Cross
On plastic sheeting, DFID has now distributed the full shipment to the
following NGOs: Nargis Action Group, Terre des hommes Italy, Save the
Children, Pact, Samaritans Purse, Merlin, Malteser, ICRC and Max
Horsley. The towns these will reach include: Pyapon, Bogale, Labutta,
Pathein, Myaung Mya, Dedaye, Maubin, Kugyangon, Twante, Wakema, Ta
Phyan Gyi, Ka Ta Paung, and Lay Ein Tan.
British aid flights: Five UKflights have now arrived in Rangoon. All
equipment has been unloaded and cleared by customs. DFIDs operating
partners collected relief supplies from WFP on May 18.
Further flights are expected to follow in due course. Departure times
and dates are subject to landing clearance.
International response to the disaster:
Health:WHO reports that as of 18 May 350 tonnes of medical supplies and
equipment has been provided for the delta area. Heavy rains continue
to affect conditions for road transport of supplies to the 200 extended
first-aid posts in affected areas. Health posts are run by Burmese
Ministry of Health doctors and Myanmar Red Cross volunteers.
There is still an urgent need for medical supplies, including emergency
health kits and water and sanitation equipment. Four cargo planes of
health supplies were flown in by Medecins Sans Frontieres including 11
emergency health kits, which will provide basic healthcare for 10,000
for three months.
Access to the affected area remains a major issue and so assessments of
real need are still thin but more information is starting to come
through about the health of people in affected areas. Reports are
coming in that people in temporary settlements in Rangoonand Irrawaddy
Divisions are receiving vaccinations against measles and vitamin A
supplements.
A need for psycho-social support has also been identified, which would
help people cope with the trauma of the cyclone and losing their loved
ones.
Rangoonport is now reopened to shipping but the port is not running to
full capacity due to cyclone damage to mechanical lifting equipment.
Save the Children and Mercy Malaysia's "floating clinic" was due to
arrive in Rangoontoday
The World Food Programme today (19 May) has sent enough food to feed
over 250,000 people in affected areas since the cyclone hit. The key
issue will be onward distribution of these items. So far, WFP has
received 13 relief flights into Rangoonairport.
The World Food Programme has dispatched more than 700 metric tonnes of
rice, high energy biscuits and beans to affected areas- enough food to
feed almost 100,000 people for approximately 10 days
Flights: Reliable information about the exact number of flights each
day arriving in Rangoonis thin however, since the cyclone struck, a
total of 80 aid flights are thought to have landed, according to the
Joint Logistics Cluster, in Rangoon.
Several more aid flights were due to land today.
DFID, the Department for International Development: leading the British
government's fight against world poverty. For more information
subscribe to our e-bulletin at http://www.dfid.gov.uk/feedback/
((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information
provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties.
Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at
http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to
info@m2.com)).
Copyright ? 2008 M2 Communications Ltd.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
INDUSTRIES
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO West, September 1-3, 2009. Los Angeles, CA.
