Press Release - ASEAN Foreign Ministers Calls for More Funds for Post-Nargis Activities

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers called for more funds and support for Nargis-affected people during the 15th ASEAN Summit in Cha-am Hua Hin, Thailand, 23-25 October 2009. The call was made following the Foreign Ministers’ endorsement of the Tripartite Core Group’s Prioritised Action Plan and the proposal to hold a Post-Nargis Assistance Conference (PONAC) to raise $103 million to address outstanding critical needs in the Nargis-hit areas of Myanmar.

The Prioritised Action Plan undertaken by the humanitarian communities is the result of a prioritization exercise that took place in Yangon and the Delta in August and September 2009. It identifies interventions in Shelter, Livelihoods, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, Education and Health - and corresponds to an assessment of delivery capacity from numerous agencies engaged in each of the sectors. It aims to provide 17,800 new houses, 16 cyclone shelters, livelihood programs for 1 million people, water and sanitation facilities for 800,000 people, education facilities to 35,000 students and health services to 900,000 individuals.

The PONAC, scheduled for 25 November 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand, aims to take stock of the progress of post-Nargis assistance over the last 18 months and to mobilise funds to address the outstanding humanitarian needs up to July 2010. It also serves as a forum for regional lessons sharing in disaster management in the wake of the multiple-disasters that struck Southeast Asia in September 2009. “People in the cyclone-affected area are awaiting our action to help them help themselves. Continued support from the donor community is urgently needed to revive their lives after one of the biggest disasters in their country's history engulfed them. I hope that we will not let them down in their hour of need,” said Dr. William Sabandar, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of ASEAN for post-Nargis Recovery in Myanmar.

The Tripartite Core Group (TCG) was officially established on 31 May 2008. It comprises high-level representatives from the United Nations, Government of the Union of Myanmar and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

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Contact details:
Mai Phuong Tang
Communications Officer
ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force
Coordinating Office in Yangon
Tel: +951 544500 Ext. 428
mai.aseanhtf@gmail.com