eyza Binnur Donmez
13 June 2023•Update: 14 June 2023
GENEVA
The UN on Tuesday urged Myanmar's government to restore humanitarian access to the cyclone-hit country, accusing authorities of paralyzing the life-saving assistance.
"We urge the State Administration Council to reconsider this decision and re-instate the initial approval for aid distributions and transportation plans," Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told a UN briefing in Geneva.
A month after Cyclone Mocha hit Rakhine State, the State Administration Council of Myanmar has suspended humanitarian access.
The decision is not only "effectively paralyzing the distribution of life-saving food, drinking water, shelter supplies and other relief to affected communities,” Laerke said, it is also a "devastating setback" for more than a million people that humanitarians had planned to reach in Rakhine over the weeks and months ahead.
"Since the cyclone hit on May 14, humanitarians have been reaching a growing number of people using limited travel authorizations granted by the de facto authorities to organizations with long-standing operations in Rakhine," he recalled.
During that time, almost 110,000 people received shelter and other assistance materials, he said and added that food assistance has reached nearly 300,000 individuals in Rakhine alone.
However, the State Administration Council has now reversed its decision, he said.
He added that aid distribution and transportation have also been halted in Chin State.
Citing the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ramanathan Balakrishnan, he said that Balakrishnan called the access denial "unfathomable" and warned of an increase in food insecurity and water-borne diseases as a result.
Cyclone Mocha ripped through the coast between Cox's Bazar and the Kyaukpyu township in Myanmar on May 14.
The natural disaster had "largely destroyed" temporary shelters for the displaced people in Myanmar’s northern region, and more heavy rainfalls are expected to come, increasing the risk of floods and landslides due to the coming monsoon season.
