U.N.'s Myanmar Fundraising Falling Short

World Body Says Some Nations Have Yet To Deliver Pledged Aid

(AP)  Queen Elizabeth II, Bill Gates, J.K. Rowling and a clutch of Hollywood stars have all given generously to help Myanmar's cyclone victims, but the U.N. says government donations for its relief effort are falling short.

The United Nations said Thursday it has received just over half the money it requested for cyclone relief in Myanmar, with some nations apparently delaying their donations because of concerns about the junta's restrictions on foreign aid workers.

The U.N. set a goal of $201.6 million for its relief efforts but has received only $113.2 million, or 56 percent, from government donors, it said. Some $51 million in pledges has yet to delivered, the U.N. said.

Funding shortfalls were particularly great for emergency food operations and education, said the world body.

"Funding is clearly not coming in at the rate we would hope," said Amanda Pitt, a U.N. spokeswoman in Bangkok, Thailand. "Funding is urgently needed to sustain the pipeline for food and assistance."

Aid donors representing dozens of countries and regional organizations met last month in Yangon and agreed to provide some cyclone aid, but warned the junta they would not fully open their wallets until international aid workers are provided access to the hardest-hit areas.

The junta promised to allow foreign workers into the Irrawaddy delta, but continued to hinder access to the area.

Other agencies are faring better. The private, Christian-oriented group World Vision says it has raised over $19 million and expects to get at least $6 million more.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says it has raised 96 percent of the $50.8 million it is currently seeking, largely because it is able to tap a network of national agencies in 186 countries.

Private agencies - which play a large part in relief operations raise much of their funds from individuals.

"Obviously people see images on television of people in great need. I think there's a natural desire to give in that situation," said World Vision spokesman James East.

He noted that the U.N. has different sources for its funds, primarily governments. "What governments are interested in is access and accountability - they want to be sure that their money is going to be spent wisely and that the aid can be monitored."

Celebrities have also played a part in raising money.

Britain's Disasters Emergency Committee - a consortium of 13 humanitarian aid agencies - says Queen Elizabeth II and Harry Potter author Rowling both contributed "significant donations" to Myanmar relief.

The committee, which says it has raised $20.8 million, would not reveal the size of their donations.

In the United States, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $3 billion for relief efforts and offered software to help reunite family members separated in the cyclone.

The donations were given to the private groups Mercy Corps, World Vision and Care "so they can go in there and help as quickly as possible," according to Gates.

Hollywood is doing its part, most notably through the nonprofit humanitarian organization Not On Our Watch - founded by actors Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt, producer Jerry Weintraub and human rights lawyer David Pressman.

The group awarded $250,000 to Save the Children, and offered to match every additional dollar given to the aid group up to $250,000.

The U.N. hopes that funding will increase after June 20, when it finishes a comprehensive assessment of the needs of the estimated 2.4 million cyclone survivors.

It estimates more than 1 million survivors, mostly in the delta, still need help more than five weeks after the cyclone. The May 2-3 storm killed more than 78,000 people and left 56,000 missing, according to the government.

[nyeinc]

It is NOT necessary to add chlorine or other cleaning tablets into rain water. I couldn%u2019t help smiling when I saw my fellow Burmese stare at the public health workers, including some nurses, adding the chlorine into a big pot, most probably, of rain water. The chlorine or other cleaning tablets will do some good in making the pond water drinkable or usable because the pond water is not assumed full of bacteria and other microbes. When it comes to the rainwater, the potential side effects of those chemicals outweigh the potential benefits because the rainwater in a sparsely industrialized country like Burma is already as clean and pure water as you can get.

[nyeinc]

Is the media going to naively swallow the political spin that World Bank cannot give any loan and grants for Burmese Cyclone victims because Burma is late in its payment since 1997. The late payment is not the real cause of the World Bank%u2019s refusal of grants/loans to Burmese cyclone victims. The country background report on U.S State Department website will tell you that World Bank has not given any loan/grants to Burma ten years earlier before they came up with the %u201Crefusal of loans for late payment%u201D.

%u201CSince July 1987, the World Bank has not made any loans to Burma. Since 1998 Burma has been in non-accrual status with the Bank. The IMF performs its mandated annual Article IV consultations, but there are no IMF assistance programs. The ADB has not extended loans to Burma since 1986. Bilateral technical assistance ended in 1988. Burma has not serviced its ADB loans since January 1998.%u201D (http:// www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35910. htm)

[nyeinc]

U.S. and World Bank Assistance for Burmese Cyclone Victims

US blocks Burmese access to loans and grants from World Bank and other international funds for development, with Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, Section 5: Loans at International Financial Institutions. My fellow Burmese expect the help they need and deserve rebuilding their economic life.

Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, Section 5: Loans at International Financial Institutions

The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director to each appropriate international financial institution in which the United States participates, to oppose, and vote against the extension by such institution of any loan or financial or technical assistance to Burma

[nyeinc]

My Aid Nightmare May Come True

Right after the Nargis Cyclone hit my fellow Burmese, I feared a scenario. The anti-regime political activists, their state/non-state supporters and the sympathetic media would successfully wage their usual negative media campaign against the Burmese military regime and blame the regime for everything bad in Burma, leaving the space for the international actors to walk away without helping Burma. Australian Christian Charity TEAR Fund executive director Stephen Tollestrup said %u201CHighlighting the difficulties of working with the Junta is undermining public confidence and causing people to hold back from donating to Myanmar appeals.%u201D It looks like that Tollestrup%u2019s concern was right and my nightmare comes true.
Several weeks have passed since the cyclone on May 2, 2008. The public attention has moved away to other headlines. The (misleading) negative media coverage about the refusal of humanitarian assistance for cyclone victims and about the abuse of cyclone relief materials made the private donors hesitant to help the cyclone victims. Winnepeg Canadian Television reports that the public %u201Chas been reluctant to donate to help the tens of thousands of victims of the cyclone in Burma and the donations are low for victims. (ctvwinnipeg.ca, May. 13 2008 18:20:19)