ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

Note: The last fact sheet was dated June 18, 2008.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

From June 19 to 22, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), in coordination with USAID/OFDA, flew nine C-130 sorties from Bangkok, Thailand, to Rangoon, transporting 14,100 tarpaulins provided by DOD. DOD consigned the tarpaulins to World Vision and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). DOD will provide a total of 150,000 tarpaulins, in accordance with U.N. Shelter Cluster specifications.

The DOD-operated U.S. Government airbridge ceased operations on June 22 after completing 185 airlifts and delivering more than $4 million of USAID/OFDA relief commodities, as well as DOD, U.N., non-governmental organization (NGO), and Government of Thailand commodities. The remaining DOD-procured tarpaulins will enter the U.N. common humanitarian pipeline in the coming days for delivery to Rangoon and subsequent distribution in affected areas by U.N. and NGO partners.

On June 24, a USAID/OFDA disaster specialist and the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires attended a presentation of the initial findings from the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA), including the Village Tract Assessment (VTA) completed on June 20. Assessment representatives indicated that complete raw data will be available on June 27. The U.N., therefore, has postponed the release of the revised U.N. flash appeal by one week from the previous date of July 3 in order for the U.N. clusters to incorporate data from the VTA into projects developed for the appeal. The revised appeal will cover 12 months, from May 2008 to the end of April 2009. The final PONJA report is scheduled for release on July 21

FY 2008 HUMANITARIAN FUNDING PROVIDED TO DATE

USAID/OFDA Assistance to Burma - $19,693,869

USAID/FFP(2) Assistance to Burma - $12,000,000

DOD Assistance to Burma - $9,475,900

Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Burma - $41,169,769

CURRENT SITUATION

On June 24, the Government of Burma (GOB) raised the official death toll for the first time since May 16 from 77,700 to 84,537 individuals. The GOB now estimates that nearly 54,000 people are missing, down from the previously reported number of 56,000.

According to the USAID/OFDA disaster specialist in Rangoon, PONJA teams identified only five villages that had not received any humanitarian assistance. In response, the U.N. Logistics Cluster deployed U.N. Word Food Program (WFP) helicopters to deliver emergency relief supplies and food assistance. The VTA preliminary report, based on 50 percent of total collected data, also indicates that 45 percent of households receive humanitarian food assistance, while 56 percent obtain food from markets. An estimated 46 percent of families in Ayeyarwady Division have food to last only two days or less, according to the initial report. Additional sector-specific VTA preliminary results follow.

Humanitarian Access

On June 20, the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), the humanitarian assistance coordination body comprising U.N., Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and GOB representatives, made the decision to revert back to the humanitarian assistance guidelines in place before the GOB announced new procedures on June 10. Therefore, the TCG and the GOB Ministry of Foreign Affairs will now handle all visa requests from U.N. agencies and NGOs and the GOB Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement will process travel authorizations.

According to OCHA, the relevant ministries processed and granted all backlogged visa requests and travel authorizations between June 21 and 22. As of June 19, the GOB had issued more than 230 visas to U.N. international staff, 200 of whom had traveled to affected areas.

Note:
(1) U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
(2) USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP)