[R-G] Burma's Junta Gave Best Help in Cyclone, Says UN

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9281fb0e-7a1a-11dd-bb93-000077b07658.html>
Burma's junta gave best help in cyclone, says UN
By Andrew Jack in London
Published: September 4 2008 03:00 | Last updated: September 4 2008 03:00

The Burmese authorities were by far the greatest providers of medical
assistance to its population after cyclone Nargis despite the
widespread international criticism of a poor response by the military
junta, according to an analysis released yesterday.

A report summarised in the latest issue of the World Health
Organisation's Bulletin says government doctors, nurses and midwives
were far more active in offering treatment and medicines to cyclone
survivors than non-governmental organisations and individual
volunteers.

The findings partially contradict perceptions based on the reluctance
of the Burmese authorities to reveal the extent of the crisis and its
slowness in allowing foreign official and private charitable
assistance to help with relief operations.

While there were widespread unmet medical needs after the cyclone in
May, Richard Garfield from the WHO's health and nutrition tracking
service, who co-ordinated the study, said: "We discovered to our
surprise because of such bad PR that there was large-scale
mobilisation by government around the country."

Although the study was conducted on behalf of the Burmese authorities,
the UN and Asean, Mr Garfield insisted that the findings were
objective.

The study, which covered nearly 3,000 households most affected by
Nargis in south-west Burma, also identified that among the survivors,
diarrhoea and the common cold were by far the most widespread
problems, rather than trauma, wounds and more serious infectious
diseases such as cholera, as some experts had warned.

Of the 85,000 estimated killed and a further 54,000 missing after the
cyclone last May, there were twice as many women who died as men. That
confirms for the first time anecdotal evidence never previously
quantified from other natural disasters, including the 2004 Asian
tsunami which claimed more than 200,00 lives.

Mr Garfield said the reasons included the fact that many women in the
region had never learned to swim, were killed while trying to save
their children, or were too weak to hold on to trees and other objects
to keep them safe over long periods until water levels dropped.

He said one set of lessons from Nargis should be the introduction of
swimming lessons for women, and family evacuation training designed to
encourage men to look after older children - which requires greater
strength - while women should care for babies.

The study also found that the most effective assistance came from
countries near Burma. "It was more culturally appropriate and got
there in time," he said.