UN Appeals For More Aid to Assist Burmese Cyclone Victims | Voice of America - English
The U.N. says it needs more than $300 million to assist the hardest hit victims of Cyclone Nargis in Burma. This brings its total appeal to the international community to more than $480 million since the storm struck in May.  From U.N. headquarters, VOA Correspondent Margaret Besheer has the story by intern Maha Saad.U.N.
U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes says that while progress has been made in aiding thepeople of Burma, more humanitarian assistance is needed for the twomillion people severely affected by the storm. He says this money willcontinue funding the emergency relief effort through April 2009. "Throughthe revised appeal, some 13 U.N. agencies and 23 NGOs [non-governmentalorganizations] are now appealing for $481.8 million all together. Inother words, $280 million beyond the initial $201 million appeal. Andgiven the contributions we have received to that initial appeal, thatmeans that $303.6 million are still needed," he said. The newappeal revises an earlier one made immediately after the storm. Acurrent assessment highlights the unmet needs of the victims. Holmessays the new appeal addresses 13 key areas including agriculture,education, health, information management, and water and sanitation. Headded that aid workers have been able to reach cyclone victims in allthe hardest hit areas - particularly the Irrawaddy delta and Yangondivision. More than 140,000 people are dead or missing. Burma'sU.N. representative, Kyaw Tint Swe, says that his government is pleasedthat the international community is willing to help. He says hisgovernment and the international community should play a role in therelief effort. "We recognize that the primary role to take careof the victims of Cyclone Nargis is the national government's. At thesame time, the challenge posed by a natural disaster of this magnitudecan only be addressed with the help and assistance from theinternational community," he said. The Burmese ambassador saysthat the Burmese government has taken steps to improve the conditionsof those severely affected, including assisting with agriculture,distributing relief supplies, and providing temporary shelter andmedical assistance.