Oxfam: Funding call for Myanmar recovery two years after Cyclone Nargis
Myanmar cyclone two years on: Aid effort only a quarter funded as survivors face another monsoon season
International aid agency Oxfam called for additional funding for the 2008 Cyclone Nargis survivors in Myanmar today, saying the upcoming monsoon season is posing a serious threat to their recovery with shelter still a pressing need and agriculture at risk.
“Two years into the current three-year international appeal for Myanmar’s recovery, only about a quarter of the money needed has been pledged. The aid successes of helping rebuilding lives are at risk if people cannot secure their homes. Money is also needed for providing drinkable water and improving sanitation and livelihood. The international community was generous when Myanmar’s crisis was on our TV screens, it should not look away now,” Oxfam’s spokesperson for Myanmar Country Program Grace Ommer said.
According to Tripartite Core Group, a mechanism comprising the Myanmar government, the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN), and the United Nations established to oversee relief and recovery efforts, only about $180 million has been received out of estimated $691 million needed between 2009 and 2011 to restore people's lives back to what they were before the cyclone.
Notes to editors
Approximately 140,000 people were killed or went missing when Cyclone Nargis hit the southern part of Myanmar on May 2, 2008. The cyclone, which was the worst natural disaster in Myanmar and the 8th deadliest in the world, affected 2.4 million people in the Ayeyarwady Delta and Yangon and cost $4.1 billion in losses and damage.
* According to the TCG, aid money to two crucial sectors for people’s recovery, shelter and agriculture, fell short by 60 per cent of the $158 million needed for last year’s recovery work alone.
* In the Post-Nargis periodic Review II, it was found that apart from lack of assets and capital, which leads to lack to affordable credit access, critical needs remain in house repair, shelter, education, and water sanitation. Ninety-three percent of the households surveyed also could not afford their house repairs as they were severely or completed destroyed, with 74 per cent of the households citing adequate shelter as one of their most pressing needs.
* An Oxfam assessment conducted this year also confirmed that one of the greatest obstacles faced by survivors is their inability to access credit. Many people whose credit-worthiness within their communities is low are excluded from this cycle. Therefore, initiatives by aid agencies to facilitate greater access to credit and networks have eased their burden significantly.
* Statistics by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development showed that Myanmar received around $11 per person in 2008, while Cambodia, also an extremely poor country, received almost $52 per person.
Contact information
Oxfam’s Myanmar spokesperson Grace Ommer, Myanmar Country Program, and Oxfam’s Regional Director Sarah Ireland, based in Bangkok, are available for interview. To interview them, please contact: Uamdao Noikorn on +662 632 0033 or +66 818 553 196