Yangon, 8 June 2008

“No one has died in the last two weeks, but the dire needs for assistance are obvious” said one member of two advance teams of the Post Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) returning from a three-day field mission in Labutta and Pyapon townships of Ayeyawaddy (Irrawady) Delta in Myanmar. The two advance teams shared their findings on the ground with members of the ASEAN-Myanmar-UN Tripartite Core Group (TCG) in Yangon yesterday.

The debriefing that was opened by Robert H.K. Chua, Singapore’s Ambassador to Myanmar as the senior ASEAN member for the TCG lasted two hours listening to candid observations including challenges and cautions to be taken into account by the 250-person full assessment teams. 

 “Most of the villages that we visited were very poor even before the cyclone. Everyone was busy rebuilding their houses but they were cooperative and keen to share their thoughts”, said one of the co-leaders, Mr. Badrul Shah bin Mohd Idris of Malaysia. “I hope that we could complete this assessment as soon as possible while we try to help so they can get back on their feet again in no time”. Both teams chose to assess the most remote among the most affected villages in the Delta. “We were given full access and all supports were provided to us by local government, communities, and the United Nations presence on the ground”, they said.

Ambassador Chua stated that this exercise reflects the tripartite cooperation between ASEAN, the Government of Myanmar and the UN. “What the advanced teams have done has been very helpful in giving the rest of the assessment team members the very first hand reading on what is happening on the ground, the needs, the challenges and the conditions”, he said. “I look forward to seeing the results of the assessment that will enable ASEAN and the UN in close partnership with the Myanmar Government to better organise the ongoing relief efforts and start planning for the reconstruction phase”.

On Monday, 9 June 2008, the TCG will send off the assessment teams consisting of 250 personnel from Myanmar Government, ASEAN Member States, the UN, international and local NGOs, Myanmar Red Cross, private sectors, volunteers as well as those from the Asian Development Bank and World Bank who are supporting ASEAN for this exercise. The assessment will cover the Delta areas during the next two weeks.

The Myanmar Government has offered to provide half of all transportation requirements, i.e. 25 cars and 20 boats, 70 mobile telephones, five regional co-coordinators, and forming local committees in the targeted 30 townships.