The United Nations released a statement on 12 June regarding the suspension of humanitarian assistance in storm-affected Arakan State.
“This decision is yet another devastating setback for more than a million people whom humanitarians had planned to reach with life-saving assistance in cyclone-hit Rakhine state over the weeks and months ahead,” said Mr. Ramanathan Balakrishnan, UN Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator.
Since the cyclone hit, humanitarians have been reaching a growing number of people with aid using limited travel authorizations granted to organizations with long-standing operations in Arakan.
More than 110,000 people across the affected areas have received shelter and other relief items, while food assistance has reached almost 300,000 people in Rakhine alone. This new access decision suspends that assistance, paralyzing the humanitarian response.
Since Cyclone Mocha, humanitarian workers have held extensive discussions on scaling up aid in Rakhine, and in June permission was granted for distribution, which has now been rescinded.
Because the humanitarian aid process has been suspended, providing essential food and distributing relief supplies to people affected by the storm is fraught with difficulties.
“This denial of access unnecessarily prolongs the suffering of those without food to eat or a roof over their head. On behalf of humanitarian actors, I urge the State Administration Council to urgently reconsider this decision and re-instate the initial approval that was granted for distributions,” added Balakrishnan.
On 23 May, humanitarians launched a 333 million USD Flash Appeal for donor support to reach 1.6 million people affected by Cyclone Mocha in Rakhine, Chin, Sagaing, Magway and Kachin. To date, just 10.3 million USD has been received, according to the UN statement.
Sent by Narinjara.