BURMA: RECOVERY FROM CYCLONE NARGIS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 RANGOON 000108 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, F DEPT FOR USAID/ANE DEPT FOR USAID/OFDA PACOM FOR FPA BANGKOK FOR USAID/RDMA TREASURY FOR OASIA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAID PREL PGOV PINR BM SUBJECT: BURMA: RECOVERY FROM CYCLONE NARGIS RANGOON 00000108 001.2 OF 004 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) This cable was prepared by USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) in coordination with the U.S. Embassy Rangoon. ¶2. (SBU) Most of the people in Irrawaddy and Rangoon divisions in Burma who were affected by Cyclone Nargis are making limited progress in rebuilding their lives nearly two years later. With the assistance of USAID/OFDA and many other donors and international and local agencies, a mostly-effective and well-coordinated response has helped millions of people to begin to recover. Local organizations have demonstrated that they play a significant role in any disaster response. Cyclone-affected populations have demonstrated a strong resilience despite a lack of resources and access to many basic services and materials. Yet many people, more than 100,000, live in very vulnerable conditions. Economic recovery has been very slow. While there are many equally needy areas throughout the country, the affected areas of the Delta will face an extended recovery process over the next several years. Overall, the first phase of the humanitarian assistance is coming to an end. End Summary. BACKGROUND -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit the coastal regions of Burma, killing an estimated 140,000 people and affecting an estimated 7 million others, particularly the Delta area in Irrawaddy Division as well as parts of Rangoon. ¶4. (SBU) Two USAID/OFDA regional advisors based in Bangkok, Thailand, traveled to some of the most affected areas of the Delta in Labutta Township in Irrawaddy Division from February 1 to 5 to monitor USAID/OFDA-funded programs, meet with several agencies working in the area, and visit several affected communities. SHELTER -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Most of the affected populations that the USAID/OFDA team visited are living in adequate shelters. The team observed a few families living in inadequate shelter under plastic sheeting without any walls or sufficient plastic sheeting for walls. The Shelter Working Group under the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) estimates that there are approximately 105,000 vulnerable families who have not received any shelter assistance and are unable to access resources to build back adequate housing. A report from the TCG released on February 9 noted that while some 50 percent of shelters were judged as safe by the Shelter Working Group, 84 percent of households that were surveyed across affected Delta communities perceived their shelter as being worse than before the cyclone. The USAID/OFDA team noted that the pre-Nargis norm for shelter was typically a simple house made of local materials with minimal structural support, and therefore vulnerable during a major storm. The houses that NGOs have built in collaboration with communities appear to RANGOON 00000108 002.2 OF 004 be much sturdier and could withstand most storms, except in the case of a cyclone with an intensity and wind speed like Nargis. The number of shelters built by international and local NGOs is far short of the total number of affected households. Shelter assistance has been provided to approximately 150,000 households to date, of which approximately 120,000 has been provided by NGOs and UN agencies. Most families were able to self recover using their own resources. ¶6. (SBU) The Government of Burma (GOB) has built an estimated 30,000 shelters that were provided mostly for families relocated to new locations. The GOB shelters that the USAID/OFDA advisors visited appeared to be built with little consultation with the communities. The GOB provided some shelters based on a "lottery" system, with affected households winning a draw receiving a government house. The NGOs, on the other hand, used a transparent set of criteria for identifying vulnerable families and involving community members. The GOB houses appeared to have little reinforcement for withstanding storms, and they were built close together in a grid pattern. FOOD AND WATER -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Access to clean water remains a problem for many communities in the Delta. Long before Cyclone Nargis, many communities in the Delta lacked adequate drinking water and had to travel long distances, use poor quality water, or buy drinking water at a high cost. The cyclone exacerbated these problems greatly. People are bringing in water from long distances or buying water at rates as high as a fifth of their monthly income. The USAID/OFDA advisors visited several ponds that NGOs have built or renovated with USAID/OFDA funding. While a few of the ponds have saline water, most offer safe drinking water throughout the dry season, and new ponds will become functional in a few months after the next monsoon season starts. ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND AGRICULTURE -------------- ¶8. (SBU) According to the USAID/OFDA team, some international NGOs reported that agricultural production in some Delta areas has reached only about half of the level of production before Cyclone Nargis. The availability of draft animals, especially water buffalo, remains far below the pre-Nargis level and will for many years. Farmers who met with the USAID/OFDA advisors stressed a strong preference for draft animals over power tillers. Access to credit remains a bottleneck for increasing production. One unprecedented trend of concern is that prices of rice for consumption, which typically decrease after harvest, remain at the same high pre-harvest level. HEALTH -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The USAID/OFDA team, implementing partners, and other organizations working in the Delta reported no recent RANGOON 00000108 003.2 OF 004 outbreaks in infectious diseases or abnormal health issues among the affected population that the USAID/OFDA advisors visited. Malnutrition rates appear to be "normal" for Burma pre-Nargis, according to information from UN agencies and NGOs, and based on USAID/OFDA observations and discussions in the communities. Stunting remains a significant chronic problem. There were no major diarrheal outbreaks. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported an immunization rate of around 95 percent, based on GOB data. However, the GOB figures are questioned by other organizations. Most of the temporary emergency health intervention measures, including mobile clinics, have ceased. Many people have to travel long distances to access any health care services, and the quality of the care is variable. FUTURE PREPAREDNESS -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Many international and local NGOs and UN agencies have incorporated disaster risk reduction strategies into their humanitarian response to Cyclone Nargis. Many communities have conducted exercises or received training for emergency situations. They demonstrated a strong resilience during the immediate aftermath and recovery period, despite the low level of income and resources in the affected communities. They are paying close attention to news, especially from radio, regarding storms heading for the Delta. While focused on economic recovery, boats that NGOs have built and distributed also offer some communities more opportunities for evacuation. Some international and local NGOs and UN agencies have constructed cyclone-resistant shelters in communities, particularly school buildings and religious structures. The GOB has constructed cyclone-resistant shelters in some of the affected communities. However, most of the rural communities, particularly smaller and more remote ones, have no shelter that could resist a cyclone or major storm. Some international and local agencies plan to continue to construct limited numbers of additional cyclone-resistant shelters. ¶11. (SBU) Local NGOs and community-based organizations have a much greater capacity to respond to future disasters. Much emphasis has been put on training local NGO staff on basic principles and specific methodologies related to disaster response. Paung Ku, a consortium of local and international organizations in Burma, reported that the consortium has distributed small grants to more than 600 local groups. Based on follow-up monitoring, more than 87 percent of the USD 2.5 million that Paung Ku distributed went directly to village level groups in the form of grants, reaching more than half a million affected people. ¶12. (SBU) Donors, international and local NGOs, and UN agencies generally reported good coordination. The Tripartite Core Group, set up with support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),the UN, and the GOB to coordinate and oversee assistance, has functioned well in the Burma context, though the GOB's restriction on its mandate last March has limited its effectiveness since then. Agencies reported general satisfaction with coordination efforts RANGOON 00000108 004.2 OF 004 CONCLUSION -------------- ¶13. (SBU) USAID/OFDA's assistance, totaling approximately USD 35 million as part of the U.S. Government's total provision of approximately USD 75 million, has helped provide effective immediate emergency assistance and early recovery on a large scale. USAID will soon launch a follow-on humanitarian assistance program of approximately USD 10 million which will include grants to some of USAID/OFDA's partners in key humanitarian sectors. In addition, a new multi-donor USD 120 million program will start soon and reach many vulnerable people in the Delta region with economic assistance. USAID/OFDA staff will continue to maintain regular contact with partners and agencies on the ground and monitor the humanitarian situation in the country. USAID/OFDA will pay particular attention to the ongoing primary concerns of access to clean water, adequate shelter and nutritional status of vulnerable groups. DINGER