ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By SAW YAN NAING | The European Commission on Thursday pledged an additional 40.5 million euros (US $58.7 million) to Burmese people inside the country and along its borders, according to a commission statement.

An estimated 22 million euros will go to people affected by Cyclone Nargis in the Irrawaddy delta and about 18.5 million euros will fund aid in 2009 for highly vulnerable people in isolated regions along the Sino-Burmese border and in Burmese refugee camps on the Thailand-Burma border.

The funds will go through operational partners such as nongovernmental organizations in Burma, UN agencies and the Red Cross.

More than 140,000 people died or are missing following the cyclone, which struck on May 2-3.

About 2 million people are expected to be assisted by the project managed by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department, under the responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel.

The aid will focus on laborers, landless farmers and fishermen living in isolated areas. The assistance will be directed toward aiding people in recovering jobs, food supply, shelter, water sanitation, healthcare and nutrition.

“The objective of our activities in Myanmar [Burma] is solely humanitarian,” said Michel in the press statement. Michel said his agency worked well with the Burmese government while providing humanitarian assistance to cyclone survivors immediately after the disaster.

Before the EU donation, two-thirds of the funds for the UN’s $451 million international appeal had been met, but agriculture and early recovery sectors were lagging with only 25 percent and 39 percent of funds needed.