USAID Provides Additional aid to Burma Cyclone Victims

By Daya Gamage

Washington, D.C. 20 June (Asiantribune.com): The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing an additional $3 million to the UN World Food Program to support its logistical operations in Burma, which have dispatched more than 2,649 metric tons of humanitarian assistance to those in need in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

The total USAID contribution to WFP for logistical support in Burma is $4 million to date.

The UN World Food Program WFP) manages the UN Joint Logistics Common Pipeline through which relief supplies, provided by the international community, are distributed to the Burmese people. In support of their logistics operation, the UN World Food Program has established five logistical hubs in the cyclone-affected area from which they distribute relief commodities and food assistance by barge, small boat, trucks and helicopters.

"The international humanitarian community has come to rely on the UN World Food Program logistics operation to provide assistance to the Burmese people, and we are pleased to offer this much needed additional support for the relief efforts," said USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore.

To date, USAID has provided more than $31.4 million in emergency assistance in response to the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis. This, combined with the $9.5 million in assistance from the Department of Defense (DOD), brings the total USG assistance to Burma to $40.9 million.