UN pushes for 482 million dollars in Myanmar relief aid

Jul 10, 2008, 19:59 GMT

New York - The United Nations appealed Thursday for a whopping 482 million dollars to help Myanmar's military regime rebuild the nation devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May, which killed an estimated 140,000 people and left 2.4 million others in dire needs.

John Holmes, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian assistance, said at UN headquarters in New York that the new appeal would cover 103 projects, ranging from food supplies, agriculture, water and sanitation, health, to schooling and shelter.

Holmes said the new appeal included 201 million dollars that the UN asked for in an earlier appeal, which had not been met by the international community. The total of 482 million dollars in the new appeal would aid Myanmar through May 2009.

'Nobody has been denied access into the country or to go to the field if they wanted to go to assist with the humanitarian activities,' Holmes told UN members during the appeal session.

He said donors and relief organizations can now reach those in need.

The military government had closed the country to relief workers in the first two weeks after the cyclone hit the delta in the south in early May. But it relented under international pressure and allowed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the UN to provide assistance to people affected by the disaster.