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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| UN warning over Burma cyclone aid | UN warning over Burma cyclone aid |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Hundreds of thousands of people in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta still need assistance - a year after a deadly cyclone, the UN and aid agencies warn. | Hundreds of thousands of people in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta still need assistance - a year after a deadly cyclone, the UN and aid agencies warn. |
| The UN and Burma's neighbours made a $700m (£469m) appeal for reconstruction in February but have so far received pledges of only $100m (£67m). | The UN and Burma's neighbours made a $700m (£469m) appeal for reconstruction in February but have so far received pledges of only $100m (£67m). |
| The UN says it is now allowed to bring in all the staff it needs after an initial ban by Burma's (Myanmar) junta. | The UN says it is now allowed to bring in all the staff it needs after an initial ban by Burma's (Myanmar) junta. |
| Cyclone Nargis killed about 140,000 people in 2008. | Cyclone Nargis killed about 140,000 people in 2008. |
| More than two million people were left homeless. | More than two million people were left homeless. |
| Reconstruction in the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta has barely begun | Reconstruction in the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta has barely begun |
| 'Intensely suspicious' | |
| The cyclone that ripped across the fertile delta of the Irrawaddy caused a humanitarian disaster on a scale comparable to the Asian tsunami. | The cyclone that ripped across the fertile delta of the Irrawaddy caused a humanitarian disaster on a scale comparable to the Asian tsunami. |
| Yet the amounts of aid being requested are just a fraction of what was spent on countries like Indonesia after the tsunami - and not much is forthcoming yet. | Yet the amounts of aid being requested are just a fraction of what was spent on countries like Indonesia after the tsunami - and not much is forthcoming yet. |
| Part of the problem is that most foreign journalists are banned from reporting in Burma - so there is little public awareness of the work being done by around 60 international aid agencies there. | Part of the problem is that most foreign journalists are banned from reporting in Burma - so there is little public awareness of the work being done by around 60 international aid agencies there. |
| Another factor that deters donors is the fear that aid could be misused by the military - a fear that Save the Children's (STC) Andrew Kirkwood says is unfounded. | Another factor that deters donors is the fear that aid could be misused by the military - a fear that Save the Children's (STC) Andrew Kirkwood says is unfounded. |
| "We have 3,000 of our own staff in the delta, and I'm absolutely confident that the assistance given to STC and other agencies got exactly where it was supposed to go - there has been no systematic diversion of those funds," Mr Kirkwood says. | "We have 3,000 of our own staff in the delta, and I'm absolutely confident that the assistance given to STC and other agencies got exactly where it was supposed to go - there has been no systematic diversion of those funds," Mr Kirkwood says. |
| Large numbers of the cyclone's survivors are still living in flimsy shelters; many supplies remain contaminated by salt. | Large numbers of the cyclone's survivors are still living in flimsy shelters; many supplies remain contaminated by salt. |
| Reconstruction - as opposed to emergency relief - has barely begun. | Reconstruction - as opposed to emergency relief - has barely begun. |
| The one bright spot, say the agencies, is that they are getting as much access as they need for their staff. | The one bright spot, say the agencies, is that they are getting as much access as they need for their staff. |
| Although they still need to ask permission from a military government that remains intensely suspicious of any foreign presence in the country. | Although they still need to ask permission from a military government that remains intensely suspicious of any foreign presence in the country. |