BAN KI-MOON HEADS TO MYANMAR TO MEET SENIOR GENERAL THAN SHWE IN EFFORT TO BOOST AID

BAN KI-MOON HEADS TO MYANMAR TO MEET SENIOR GENERAL THAN SHWE IN EFFORT TO BOOST AID New York, May 21 2008 12:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is en route to the cyclone-devastated country, will meet with Myanmar's Senior General Than Shwe in an effort to accelerate relief efforts for the some 2.4 million people in need of help.

Speaking with reporters at Bangkok airport, Mr. Ban said, "I will meet with senior Government officials in the Myanmar Government including Senior General Than Shwe." The Secretary-General added that it was essential to "expedite all arrangements for facilitating the free movement of international relief aid and workers."

"The Government itself acknowledges that there has never been a disaster on this scale in the history of their country," he said, stressing that it was a "critical moment" for Myanmar. Mr. Ban noted that the relief programme had so far reached only about 25 per cent of the people in need.

Up to 2.4 million people have been severely affected by the disaster, which ravaged large parts of the Irrawaddy delta in the south of the country. Approximately 60 per cent of the infrastructure in the delta has been destroyed or damaged, as have three quarters of the area's schools, the Secretary-General said.

Mr. Ban added that Myanmar's Government has estimated the losses at more than $10 billion, and said he plans to see the affected areas at first hand, and to meet with people in need.

Announcing that the UN has established a logistics hub for aid in Thailand, Mr. Ban said he hoped it would also be possible to set up forward logistics bases within Myanmar itself, in coordination with the Government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Secretary-General commended ASEAN for helping the flow of relief aid and workers into Myanmar.

The Secretary-General repeated an earlier warning that the international community needed to give thought to Myanmar's longer term needs, saying that it may already be too late for farmers to plant the next harvest, and that the economic impact of the disaster is "severe".

While in the country, Mr. Ban will also participate in a funding conference in Myanmar's largest city Yangon on Sunday. He said he plans to "reinforce a partnership between Myanmar and the international community including ASEAN and key neighbouring countries like India and China."

The Secretary-General stressed that aid and assistance to the people of Myanmar should not be politicized. "Our focus now is on saving lives," he added.

A major relief effort by UN agencies continues in Myanmar. The World Food Programme (WFP) has been given permission to use nine helicopters to fly in badly needed food supplies. WFP says it has dispatched enough rice to feed 340,000 for two weeks, but reports finding entire communities that have been forced to survive without outside assistance despite having every building destroyed.

Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are providing shelter, medical equipment and water purification tablets, and carrying out health surveillance among the affected population.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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