U.N. Secretary General on His Way to Myanmar

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced in a Tuesday morning press conference (New York time) that he was heading to Yangon to help reinforce cyclone relief efforts there. The Secretary General will arrive on Thursday to meet with local and international relief officials, tour the Irrawaddy delta, and attend an international donor conference to be held on Sunday. U.N. agencies such as the World Health Organization, the U.N. Children’s Fund (Unicef), and World Food Programme (WFP) have been active in the relief effort.

“I want to see the conditions under which relief teams are working and I intend to do all I can to reinforce their efforts in coordination with the Myanmar’s authorities and international aid agencies,” Mr. Ban said in remarks to reporters at U.N. Headquarters.

The Secretary General also reported that so far aid agencies have only been able to reach 25% of those who have been seriously affected by Cyclone Nargis. To help expand the distribution of relief aid Mr. Ban also said that approval had been secured for 9 WFP helicopters to transport aid throughout the Irrawaddy Delta.

Calling attention to the devastation caused by the cyclone, Mr. Ban noted the long-term reconstruction needs for the country. Discussing the affects of the storm on the farming infrastructure and the factor of it striking right at the beginning of the planting season, he added that, “the economic effects of the natural disaster that has struck Myanmar could be more severe and longer lasting than the 2004 tsunami.” According to Mr. Ban, early estimates have put the economic damages at roughly $10 billion. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s estimate for Myanmar’s GDP in 2007 was $21.2 billion in Purchasing Power Parity(PPP).

Tags: Ban Ki-Moon, Burma, Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar, Rangoon, Unicef, United Nations, WFP, WHO, Yangon