MYANMAR: UN REFUGEE AGENCY SETS UP FIELD UNITS IN CYCLONE AREA

MYANMAR: UN REFUGEE AGENCY SETS UP FIELD UNITS IN CYCLONE AREA New York, May 30 2008 1:00PM The United Nations refugee agency has established two field units in two townships the Ayeyarwady delta to increase supplies to people affected by Cyclone Nargis, and to better assess the needs in the area.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news">UNHCR) has flown 405 tons of emergency supplies into Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, on nine flights, according to a spokesperson.

The supplies include plastic sheeting, mosquito nets and kitchen sets for the devastated country.

UNHCR said it had provided shelter for more than half of the 250,000 cyclone victims it is committed to assisting under the UN Flash Appeal that was launched earlier this month.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) recently reported that about 60 per cent of the $201 million appeal has been funded, but said that more support is still needed. OCHA estimates that relief efforts will likely last for at least another six months.

The UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) is assisting the Government of Myanmar to repair schools and distribute educational materials. UNICEF estimates that more than 4,000 schools were either damaged or destroyed by the severe storms.

The UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=31">WFP) continues a major operation to supply rice, beans and other foodstuffs to affected populations, while the UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/en/">WHO) has deployed surveillance teams to monitor for the outbreak of disease.
2008-05-30 00:00:00.000

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