Burma Red Tape Delays Cyclone Aid, Agencies Say

The Irrawaddy News - AP

Ten thousand pregnant women among Burma's estimated 2.4 million cyclone survivors are in urgent need of proper care, a UN official said Wednesday, as fresh questions were raised about the government's willingness to accept foreign assistance.

International aid agencies are expressing concern over new and complicated guidelines established by Burma's government for carrying out assistance programs to victims of last month's cyclone.

The guidelines, distributed on Tuesday by the government at a meeting with UN agencies and private humanitarian organizations, would require a large amount of paperwork and repeated contacts with national and local government agencies.

The new guidelines require most activities by the foreign agencies to be cleared with not only the relevant government ministry and local authorities concerned, but also with the so-called Tripartite Core Group, comprising representatives of the government, UN agencies and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member.

In response, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies said the humanitarian community was expressing concerns that "additional steps for seeking approval may unnecessarily delay the relief response."

"The meeting was assured by the concerned ministries that this would not be the case and that delays would definitely not be a consequence of the approval process outlined," the IFRC said in a report issued on Wednesday.

Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said at a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, that UN agencies were currently assessing the new guidelines.

At the same press conference, a spokesman for the United Nations Population Fund said pregnant women in the cyclone-affected areas of Burma were facing increased health risks.

The maternal mortality rate in Burma even before the storm was 380 per 100,000 births—almost four times the rate in neighboring Thailand and 60 times the rate in Japan, said William A. Ryan.

More than 100 women give birth every day in the area affected by the cyclone, he said.

"The destruction of health centers and the loss of midwives have greatly increased the risks," said Ryan. "It is clear that many pregnant women do not have anywhere to go to deliver with skilled assistance."

He said the wrecked health facilities need to be rebuilt with the capacity to handle emergency obstetrics.

Ryan said that compared to many other countries, Burma has a fairly high number of births attended by midwives—but the comparison is to other countries that are desperately poor.

Foreign aid organizations have faced a series of hurdles in trying to provide help for victims of the May 2-3 storm, starting with the government's reluctance to grant anything but a handful of visas to foreign helpers.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month traveled to Burma to meet with the chief of the ruling junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who agreed to allow aid workers into the affected area "regardless of nationality," according to Ban. The general also agreed to allow the UN to bring in 10 helicopters to fly supplies to the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta.

Although the helicopters have been allowed in—with some delay—aid agencies say the government has continued dragging its feet over visa applications and allowing foreigners access to the most devastated areas.

The UN estimates that Cyclone Nargis affected 2.4 million people and that more than 1 million of them, mostly in the Irrawaddy delta, still need help. The cyclone killed at least 78,000 people, according to the government.

Although the government says the relief operations have now reached the post-emergency recovery phase, aid agencies are concerned that many people still are lacking necessities.

"What we're concerned about is premature returns to areas where the services are not yet in a position to be used, to try and make sure we can reach people the best we can no matter where they are," said the UN's Pitt.

France Hurtubise of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies said providing shelter remains a priority. According to the organization, only 107,000 of some 341,000 households had received shelter kits, which are supposed to include two tarpaulins each.

Aid agencies project that tarpaulin supplies will fall short of demand in the coming weeks, in part because of the competing need for such supplies for victims of China's May 12 earthquake.