Myanmar
http://myanmar.humanitarianinfo.org/Myanmar was struck by Cyclone Nargis in early May 2008, making landfall in the country’s highly populated delta region. Heavy rains, high wind speeds and a storm surge contributed to an official death toll of 84,500 with 53,800 people missing and 19,300 injured in an area covering 23,500 km2. The storm greatly impacted the area’s livelihood and shelter sectors as well as critical infrastructure. Of an estimated 7.35 million living in the area, 2.4 million people were severely affected by the storm and its aftermath.
As the area moves into a recovery phase, the critical challenge in 2009 is to ensure that continued aid efforts remain as robust and effective as those of the emergency relief phase. The collaborative response of the Government of Myanmar, the United Nations and the international community – particularly the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – has presented a critical opportunity to build upon the confidence and trust established during the relief phase. In 2009, the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), consisting of high-level representatives of the Government, ASEAN and the UN, will continue to serve as the platform for constructive dialogue on critical humanitarian priorities and for the timely implementation of relief and recovery efforts.
OCHA will continue to work with key stakeholders and the humanitarian community in Myanmar to address critical humanitarian needs. OCHA will specifically focus on efforts related to the Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparation Plan (PoNREPP) process, promoting a common approach toward needs assessments and impact evaluations.
To facilitate better assistance, OCHA will aim to improve the overall understanding of the humanitarian situation by humanitarian actors and the needs and priorities in the country, through continued support to the Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU). As a common platform for reliable and objective data which supports the efforts of all actors, MIMU will ensure a needs-based humanitarian framework for Myanmar.
As cyclone Nargis dramatically underscored, Myanmar is extremely disaster-prone and faces multiple hazards throughout the country. In 2009, OCHA will work with the Humanitarian Country Team to improve contingency planning, strengthening cluster-based coordination and promoting more effective future responses for the country as a whole. Working with key partners, OCHA will further support national authorities to develop natural disaster risk reduction mechanisms to improve preparedness and awareness.
Through inter-cluster coordination, OCHA will aim to enhance the current overall response effort. In particular, OCHA will support the transition process in the Delta region through ensuring each cluster maintains an early and medium-term recovery focus.
In tandem with the completion of the revised flash appeal, there is expected to be a gradual drawdown of OCHA’s current presence in the Delta in 2009, but the intention is to retain a continuing national presence to help address country-wide issues.
Key Objectives, Outputs and Indicators
