CNA – The United Nations (UN) yesterday said it needed USD375 million in funding to get food, medicine and other relief supplies to millions of people affected by a cyclone that devastated parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Western Myanmar and provinces in neighbouring Bangladesh, where there is a large population of Rohingya Muslims and refugees, bore the brunt of Cyclone Mocha on May 14, which is estimated to have killed hundreds and caused widespread damage.
For Myanmar, the UN said it was appealing for USD122 million in extra funding and for USD211 million of existing funds to be channelled toward cyclone response, while a separate USD42 million was needed for Bangladesh.
“We are now in a race against time to provide people with safe shelter in all affected communities and prevent the spread of water-borne disease,” said the UN’s resident coordinator for Myanmar, Ramanathan Balakrishnan, adding that donors needed to “dig deep” to support relief efforts.
The appeal comes as humanitarian organisations struggle to access the worst-hit areas due to storm damage and they await permission from Myanmar’s military government. A senior aid worker who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters supplies were sitting in warehouses in the commercial capital Yangon as they awaited clearance more than a week after the disaster.
