YANGON, 28 January 2010 (IRIN) - Poor funding support for recovery efforts after Cyclone Nargis has left hundreds of thousands in Myanmar vulnerable, many without durable shelters to withstand further disasters, the UN says.The category four storm struck Myanmar’s Yangon and Ayeyarwady divisions in May 2008, killing at least 140,000 and affecting 2.4 million people.
A young child eats from a bowl in Myanmar's badly affected Ayeyarwady Delta. Almost 21 months since Nargis struck, thousands remain vulnerable
It prompted an appeal for US$691 million for the Post Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP) from 2009 to 2011.
Bishow Parajuli, the UN Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, said funding for initial relief efforts from donors had been generous, but painted a different picture for recovery activities.
“The international support for the recovery has been low, or lower than expected,” Parajuli told IRIN in an interview.
“I wish there was much more of a response. The flow has not been as we had been hoping for,” he added.
In November last year, donors pledged more than $88 million after an appeal for $103 million to cover critical recovery needs. To date, more than $90.4 million has been committed and some additional commitments by donors are expected.
The appeal was part of the original $691 million amount for the PONREPP released in December 2008.
Parajuli praised donors for their commitment to recovery efforts, but noted that some of the pledges in November were reconfirmations of previous support, rather than new pledges.
“Some of it has already been delivered and used, some [funds] are coming now and others are due to come. So it is really difficult, frankly, to pin down, to say how much has actually been delivered. But in any case, the amount only covers the most critical needs."
In total, $215 million has been committed since the appeal was released, which is now trickling down to the population in the Nargis-affected areas.
Adding to the challenge is Myanmar’s domestic political situation, which makes it among the lowest recipients in the world of overseas development assistance.
“The number of donors supporting Myanmar is limited,” said Parajuli.
Shelter least funded
Nearly 800,000 homes were destroyed or damaged by Cyclone Nargis, leaving only 16,000 houses or 2 percent intact, according to the PONREPP.
UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) data shows that as of mid-January 2010, nearly 160,000 households had yet to receive shelter assistance of any sort, and were living in makeshift shelter such as tents.
Parajuli said good progress had been made in funding for health and education, but shelter was the least supported, making it the area “of largest concern for the humanitarian community”.
Out of $88 million pledged, only $500,000 is allocated for shelter.
Many Nargis survivors rebuilt their homes after the devastation with temporary material, so they are not sturdy enough even to survive smaller storms, he said.
“People are vulnerable. And as much as there are various preventative measures done by building cyclone shelters, or cyclone shelters cum schools and all these things, at the end of the day every human being needs shelter,” said Parajuli.
Low investment
According to Srinivasa Popuri, head of UN-HABITAT in Myanmar, between $4,000 and $5,000 had been spent on each home rebuilt in the 2004 Asian tsunami-affected countries such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka, using bricks and concrete.
By contrast, in Myanmar, donors provided an average $400 to rebuild a house.
To date, only 30,938 houses have been rebuilt by the UN and NGOs, and another 30,000 have been built by the government at a cost of $1,200-$1,500, according to UN-HABITAT.
“Obviously the level invested in shelter has been much lower, so obviously, you expect a similar level of outcome and results,” said Popuri.
Parajuli said more funding was also needed for livelihood assistance as Nargis damaged or destroyed paddy crops, fishing gear and commercial enterprises.
“[People] need income opportunities. They need jobs, they need employment, they need boats and fishing nets,” he said.
“The agricultural sector is extremely short of cash [and] credit and the farmers don’t have money to employ people as they used to. In the absence of that, they can’t give jobs to those who used to look for employment.”
Source :http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87906
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