IRIN
MYANMAR: UNDP launches early recovery package for cyclone survivors
4 June 2008


BANGKOK, 4 June 2008 (IRIN) - The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has 
launched a major initiative to rebuild the livelihoods of some 100,000 
cyclone survivors in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta.

"People want to revive and restore their livelihoods as quickly as 
possible," UNDP's policy adviser Shafique Rahman told IRIN from Yangon, 
the former Burmese capital.

"The programme will last between three and six months, depending on how 
fast they can recover," he said.

The initial effort will be built on with a much larger early recovery 
plan that will be more comprehensive after assessments and a revised 
flash appeal is issued in June.

The programme, which will parallel the ongoing relief effort, will 
initially target some 20,000 households in 250 priority villages where 
UNDP currently operates in five townships.

UNDP has authorisation to work in nine delta townships, seven of which 
are cyclone-affected. Of the latter, five bore the brunt of about 80 
percent of the damage, Rahman estimated.

Launched on 4 June, the early recovery basic services package comprises 
a combination of cash grants for immediate livelihood support and 
cash-for-work schemes for rehabilitating village social infrastructure, 
including the clearing and cleaning of ponds, along with the repair of 
footpaths, water and sanitation facilities, and farmland.

"If farmers can plant, they will receive small cash grants and 
agricultural livelihood assistance under this package. These could 
include tools, seeds, and other agricultural inputs," Cherie Hart, 
UNDP's regional communications adviser, said in Bangkok.

If farmers cannot plant, because of land degradation following the 
cyclone, they would receive assistance for small trades and commercial 
services, such as masonry, boat transport, homestead gardening and 
poultry, she added.

The inter-agency collaboration built into the package, including the UN 
Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 
expands on an earlier agreement to assist farmers for the monsoon 
planting season.

More than 77,000 people were killed and 55,000 others left missing when 
Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar on 2 and 3 May. Thousands lost their 
livelihoods.

"Relief is offered to save lives. Early recovery is aimed at helping 
rebuild those lives that have been saved," Hart said.

Asked whether the programme would be replicated elsewhere in the delta, 
Rahman noted the ongoing challenge of securing access to the area.

"Access is an issue in Myanmar. Wherever we work we have to have an MoU 
[memoradum of understanding] or authorisation by the authorities to 
operate in any township," he said.

Of the 250 villages being targeted, he estimated that about 85 percent 
would be in the three delta townships of Labutta, Bogali, and 
Mawlamyinegyun.

"In Bogali, 95 percent of households were affected and will require 
assistance," he said.

UNDP has had a strong presence in the delta, having run a community 
development project and micro-finance project there for over a decade.


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