Myanmar Cyclone Relief Aid Update: Your donations are still needed

The UN has released the donation figures following the joint ASEAN-UN sponsored donor conference in Yangon. As of May 26th, a total of USD 132,698,157 has been committed and transferred to U.N. and other NGO agencies working on the cyclone relief efforts in Myanmar. An additional USD 100,223,288 has been pledged to the relief effort (although it has yet to be either committed or transferred to the U.N. or NGOs). It is likely that much of this latter pledged figure will be allocated in the coming weeks as international government agencies and NGOs are better able to make assessments of the affected areas. For a full accounting of the financial picture of the relief effort, see here, and figures for the May 26th update here. The Myanmar government’s assessment of need is nearly USD 11 billion.

The UN Flash Appeal from 20 UN agencies and international NGOs so far has received a commitment of USD 74.6 million, with an additional USD43.8 million pledged. The UN Flash Appeal for Myanmar currently is requesting $201 million, although this figure is likely to rise as further assessment is made of areas that so-far have yet to be reached by relief officials in the Irrawaddy Delta.

Since different NGOs provide different types of relief assistance, funding is divided into various sectors, such as: agriculture. coordination and support, economic recovery and infrastructure, education, food, health, protection/human rights, safety, shelter, and water and sanitation. Some sectors of the most urgent need, such as food and health, have received a greater share of donations so far.

The Health sector, for example has received just over USD 15 million in committed funding and pledges against an assessed need of USD 23.5 million. The Food Sector (covered by the World Food Programme) has received USD 14.8 million in funds with pledges of an additional USD 19.2 million, however as the assessed need is for USD 69.5 million the need has only been half met. Then there is Education, there is a USD 7.5 million need for providing financing for education programs. But so far programs, such as World Vision’s emergency education for refugee children and Save the Children’s early childhood development programs, have yet to receive any committed funds or pledges, according the UN‘s figures.

Below is a list of the top 10 donors to the Myanmar relief effort. The UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund has contributed the largest amount so far, with private donors, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Denmark rounding out the top 5. The top private donor so far has been the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A few other private companies have provided assistance, but so far corporate donations to Myanmar, one of the world’s most economically underdeveloped countries, have reportedly trailed corporate donations to China’s earthquake relief by a considerable margin.

“For both China and Myanmar, there is lots of interest and concern, but there has certainly been more of a response for China,” said American Red Cross spokesman Michael Oko.

TOP 10 Donors to Myanmar (Burma) Cyclone Relief (US Dollars / Percent of Total)*

Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) 22,417,366 16.9 %

Private (individuals & organizations) 19,511,297 14.7 %

Australia 14,365,563 10.8 %

United Kingdom 12,168,382 9.2 %

United States 11,134,846 8.4 %

Denmark 4,724,301 3.6 %

Canada 4,442,259 3.3 %

Norway 4,201,559 3.2 %

Sweden 3,161,021 2.4 %

France 3,115,265 2.3 %

*Note: Does not include funds that have been pledged but not yet committed.

Tags: Burma, Cylone Nargis, Myanmar, NGO, Red Cross, relief aid, Save the Children, UN, United Nations, WFP, World Vision, Yangon