Burma storm aid frustrations grow
- added May 16, 2008
- 0 responses
-
-
-
- kushan
- added this
-
-
- related topics
-
- Burma Cyclone (85)
- Aid Frustration (4)
Top aid envoys are ramping up pressure on Burma, as reports from the country suggest aid is still not reaching the region worst hit by Cyclone Nargis.
A BBC reporter visiting the Irrawaddy Delta said there was little sign of aid from the government, which has banned foreign aid staff from the area.
But Burma's prime minister said the emergency relief phase was finished, and rebuilding was beginning.
Aid agencies say relief for up to 2.5m affected people is vastly insufficient.
Official death figures from Burma - also known as Myanmar - have risen to more than 43,000, with nearly 28,000 missing, but the Red Cross and UN both say the toll could top 100,000.
No aid in delta
The BBC's Natalia Antelava reports that the muddy banks of the Irrawaddy Delta are lined with white, swollen bodies and the air reeks of rotting flesh.
Nearly two weeks after the cyclone struck, survivors who have lost loved ones have no fresh water and just enough rice to get by, our correspondent says.
While the military government has put impressive effort into clean-up operations in the former capital, Rangoon, she reports, there was no sign of an aid operation as she travelled into the Delta by boat.
Burma's authorities have welcomed aid donations from all over the world, but only a few foreign experts have been allowed into the country to help organise the relief effort.
'Time to save lives'
The EU's top aid official, Louis Michel, who is in the country for talks, urged the Burmese government to improve access for international aid experts.
A BBC reporter visiting the Irrawaddy Delta said there was little sign of aid from the government, which has banned foreign aid staff from the area.
But Burma's prime minister said the emergency relief phase was finished, and rebuilding was beginning.
Aid agencies say relief for up to 2.5m affected people is vastly insufficient.
Official death figures from Burma - also known as Myanmar - have risen to more than 43,000, with nearly 28,000 missing, but the Red Cross and UN both say the toll could top 100,000.
No aid in delta
The BBC's Natalia Antelava reports that the muddy banks of the Irrawaddy Delta are lined with white, swollen bodies and the air reeks of rotting flesh.
Nearly two weeks after the cyclone struck, survivors who have lost loved ones have no fresh water and just enough rice to get by, our correspondent says.
While the military government has put impressive effort into clean-up operations in the former capital, Rangoon, she reports, there was no sign of an aid operation as she travelled into the Delta by boat.
Burma's authorities have welcomed aid donations from all over the world, but only a few foreign experts have been allowed into the country to help organise the relief effort.
'Time to save lives'
The EU's top aid official, Louis Michel, who is in the country for talks, urged the Burmese government to improve access for international aid experts.
Login/Registration is required to add a response.
