Stubborn military causing miseries in Myanmar
Bangkok: An estimated 1.5 million people in Myanmar are on the brink of a "massive public health catastrophe," the British charity Oxfam warned this weekend, as reports say desperate survivors of cyclone Nargis pour out of the Irrawaddy Delta into regional towns in search of water, food and other forms of help.
The dire warning – and a plea for greater international access to the area – came after the United Nations and non-governmental organisations issued a flash appeal for US$187 million. "The sheer magnitude of the devastation is such that international assistance is essential for ensuring a rapid and coherent response," John Holmes, the UN-under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said in New York where the appeal was launched on May 9. "If we do not act now, and if we do not act fast, more lives will be lost." ‘Perfect storm’ Two days later in Bangkok, Sarah Ireland, Oxfam's regional director, warned that Myanmar was facing a "perfect storm" of conditions that could lead to an outbreak of waterborne diseases, following the tropical cyclone and tidal wave that killed at least 28,000 people, according to state media. "The ponds are full of dead bodies, the wells have saline water, and even things like a bucket are in scarce supply," Ireland said. She appealed for authorities to permit Oxfam, which is experienced in dealing with such emergencies, and other international humanitarian agencies to send technical and health experts to help prevent disease outbreaks. The World Health Organisation also released a risk assessment which, as well as waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, warns of an increased threat of malaria and dengue fever, as receding floods will increase the number of breeding sites for mosquitoes. The WHO’s latest update reports cases of diarrhoea and dysentery in the affected areas. Immediately after the cyclone, Myanmar's government appealed for international help with the catastrophe. But so far the authorities have refused to allow most foreign aid workers to enter the country, saying it preferred to receive supplies that the army, and the Myanmar Red Cross, which has close ties to the regime, can distribute themselves. "Currently Myanmar has prioritised receiving emergency relief provisions and making strenuous effort of delivering it with its own labour to the affected areas," the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said on May 9. Aid reaching only a fraction The Burmese government has invited three organisations – World Vision, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) – to serve as 'partners' in the relief effort, according to a statement by World Vision (To read more, please click here). As of May 7 – four days after the disaster, only about 276,000 of the roughly 1.5 million critically affected survivors of the cyclone had received any relief supplies either from UN agencies or international NGOs. "It's still very much too piecemeal for our liking," Amanda Pitt, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on May 11. "One week on, we would normally expect to have far greater coverage. With this many people affected, everybody is very concerned. We do not want to see a second wave of tragic deaths caused by disease and starvation." UN agencies and international charities operating in Myanmar prior to the disaster have been setting to work in disaster response. But agencies also say that without reinforcements from abroad, their staff on the ground has been stretched to the limit. Aid trickling in Emergency supplies – including food, water purification tablets, tarpaulins, and other assistance - are now arriving in Myanmar, and gradually filtering into the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta. The World Food Programme (WFP), which on May 9 accused the authorities of impounding plane loads of emergency food, has since said the cargo, plus additional supplies from subsequent flights, had been released and was now being distributed in the disaster zones. Yet humanitarian workers say that the quantity of relief materials flowing into the region is still just a fraction of what is needed. Most survivors had not yet received any help, due to a lack of supplies, and difficulties in reaching the distressed survivors in remote parts of the delta. "Beyond the main arterial roads, it's a massive challenge, not only because the flood waters are still there, but also because even when they are not, it's extremely difficult to navigate," Marcus Prior, a WFP spokesman said. Without adequate relief supplies reaching them in their own areas, many victims are thronging small towns, now struggling to cope with a flood of displaced people and quickly running out of supplies. Grim conditions in Irrawaddy delta International aid workers contacted in the commercial capital Yangon on May 9 painted a grim picture of conditions in the stricken Irrawaddy Delta, a low-lying area, much of which remains submerged. "It's really horrific," said one Yangon-based foreign aid worker, whose national staffers are in from the worst affected areas. "There are villages where everyone survived, but they have been without food and water for a week, and are just on a little hill, surrounded by water, waiting for help." Soldiers have begun evacuating victims from the submerged areas. But aid workers say the evacuees are just being dropped off in schools or monasteries and then left to fend for themselves with little or no food. The latest OCHA situation report notes reports from UNICEF that there are over 200 makeshift camps of survivors in the delta region identified so far. UN officials say it is unclear who is running the makeshift refugee camps, what help is being given there, and whether there are proper sanitary conditions to prevent disease. "It's very dire," said another aid worker. "The army has been out there given out food and supplies, but it's very little. For every hour that goes by, people are dying." Source: IRIN |
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