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UK official urges donors to ‘scale up’ aid to Myanmar
Diplomatic Affairs Editor Thet Khaing
BRITAIN, one of the world’s leading aid donors to Myanmar, last week urged other donors to “scale up” their support for the country’s health sector.
The British ambassador to Myanmar, Mr Mark Canning, told a meeting of international aid donors in Yangon last Wednesday that donors can be assured that their aid would be used “effectively”.
“The needs, particularly in health, are huge and have far exceeded the capacity of the current humanitarian effort. So we and our partners would like
to see other international donors scale up their support,” Mr Canning was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the UN at the end of the closed-door meeting.
“We would also like to see the government of Myanmar increase its contribution to the health sector, not least because such a sign of commitment helps draw in further international assistance,” he said.
The British government has contributed £45 million (about US$90 million) through the UN and nongovernmental organisations to support victims of cyclone Nargis, which struck lower Myanmar in May.
It has also contributed £20 million in the Three Diseases Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Myanmar.
Donors to the fund, which also include the EU as well as the governments of the Netherlands, Norway and Australia, have pooled together $100 million for the five-year aid project.
“Our experience, both as a leading contributor to the cyclone Nargis relief operation and to other vital programs like the Three Diseases Fund, demonstrates that it is possible to deliver aid effectively in this country, direct to those who need it, through the UN as well as national and international NGOs,” Mr Canning said.
“It’s not always straightforward, but it works,” he said.
The statement said the meeting organised by the UN country team in Myanmar was attended by 60 participants representing donor nations and INGOs, mainly to seek assistance for child and maternal healthcare.
UN resident and humanitarian coordinator Mr Bishow Parajuli told the meeting that cyclone Nargis has aggravated health conditions in the affected areas, but the international response, along with local efforts, helped avert major outbreaks of diseases in those areas.
“The past seven months’ experience of responding to the health needs of the cyclone-affected population has shown that effective aid delivery can be achieved. At the same time, the cyclone has resulted in a significantly increased level of general vulnerability amongst the population,” Mr Parajuli said.
“Investments and progress made to date are therefore at risk unless concerted and coordinated efforts are made to support the health system,” he said.
In the aftermath of the cyclone, which killed more than 100,000 people, the government of Myanmar, the UN and ASEAN joined forces to form the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) to oversee the relief and recovery efforts.
There were widespread fears of potential disease outbreaks in the worst-affected areas of the Ayeyarwady delta. However, this did not happen mainly due to an effective healthcare response, according to the UN.
“The much-feared ‘second wave of death’ has been prevented. Despite the devastation, there has been no significant increase in morbidity and mortality after the cyclone,” the UN statement said.
The head of the Yangon office of Médecins Sans Frontières Holland, Dr Frank Smithuis, said political considerations should not be a roadblock to providing assistance to the needy population of Myanmar.
“There are very positive results from projects related to prevention and treatment of diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS in Myanmar,” he said.
The UN has said that it requires $18 million in funding to support child and maternal healthcare in Myanmar in 2009.
http://www.mmtimes.com/no449/n001.htm
