October 18, 2008 MYANMAR: Every village should have one midwife - UNFPA official

WABOEGONE, 16 October 2008 (IRIN) - Almost five months after Cyclone Nargis claimed five of her six children, Thein Thein faces having her seventh baby without any proper care. Thein Thein, 38, has few safe delivery options as there is no midwife in her village, Waboegone, comprising 100 people in about 20 households, which can only be reached by a five-hour boat journey and a 30-minute walk. Pregnant women in rural areas usually give birth at home with the help of a village midwife, who is rarely properly trained, or a health attendant from a local health centre. A nurse from the nearest town - Pyinzalu in Labutta Township at the southern part of the Ayeyarwady Delta - comes to Waboegone village every month for maternal health services. "I might need to go to the nearest town to deliver the baby as there is no midwife here," said Thein Thein. Pregnant women in the hard-to-reach cyclone-hit area are among the most vulnerable of survivors of the category four storm that left...

October 16, 2008 Aid groups blast ASEAN-led report on Myanmar relief effort

JAKARTA (AFP) — A coalition of humanitarian groups heavily criticised Thursday a report on Myanmar's cyclone disaster, saying it glossed over the junta's obstruction of aid and human rights abuses.

The Burma Partnership, which represents 19 aid organisations, released an "alternative" report to provide what it said was a more accurate picture of the response to Cyclone Nargis, which left 138,000 people dead or missing in May.

"When we studied the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment report prepared by the UN, ASEAN and the Burmese regime, we realised that it failed to describe the obstruction of aid and human rights abuses committed by the military regime in the areas affected by the cyclone," Khin Ohmar of the Burma Partnership told a press conference.

"As independent civil society organisations, we felt the need to tell the other side of the post-Nargis story."

The generals ruling Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, drew international outrage by refusing to...

October 13, 2008 FAO To Donate More Cattle To Myanmar's Cyclone-hit Regions

YANGON, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is making arrangements to donate more draught cattle to support the rehabilitation work of Myanmar cyclone victims, Xinhua news agency said, quoting the local "Weekly Eleven" report Tuesday. A total of 550 cows and cattle as well as 15,000 chickens and 60,000 ducks are set to be distributed by the UN organization in November and December this year to survived farmers for the resumption of their agricultural work. Besides, local and other international organizations are also planning to donate pigs, chickens and ducks for the victims. In July this year, purchasing from lesser-cyclone-hit region of Bago and cyclone-free northern region of Mandalay, the FAO had donated 600 cows and cattle for four cyclone-hit regions - Kungyankon, Mawlamyine, Ngaputaw and Phyapon to help restart agricultural cultivation. Earlier, local reports said altogether 1,400 draught buffaloes and cows have...

October 12, 2008 MYANMAR: Disabled people await post-cyclone aid

YANGON, 12 October 2008 (IRIN) - More than five months after Cyclone Nargis struck southern Myanmar, people with physical disabilities (PwDs) continue to await assistance. Little of the international relief targeting the 2.4 million people affected has filtered down to them. Scores lost their homes, property and livelihoods to the storm, which left nearly 140,000 dead or missing. Others lost their mobility devices - including, crutches, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs - to flood waters. Many were also badly traumatised and have yet to receive the psycho-social support they need. “Many people were affected by the cyclone and are now receiving assistance. Unfortunately very little has come to us,” said Nay Lin Soe, who was stricken with polio as a youngster and can only walk with the aid of crutches. Today he is one of 125 disabled people working together to help other PwDs in his community rebuild their lives and homes. They have a simple office within the Eden Centre for Disabled...

October 10, 2008 Myanmar: Children of the cyclone

Cyclone Nargis left hundreds of children orphaned and vulnerable. These are the stories of Htoo and Pont Pont.

Saw Kay Htoo

You could be forgiven for thinking that Saw Kay Htoo is just like any other 11-year-old boy. Walking home from school with a beaming smile and chatting with his classmates, there are no obvious signs of the tragedy he has lived through.

Home, however, is the child protection centre in Labutta, where seven orphans live together. They all lost their parents during the cyclone almost five months ago. Three of the smaller children are from the same family, but Saw Kay Htoo is alone.

Htoo lost his parents and ten siblings when Cyclone Nargis ravaged the Ayeyarwaddy Delta that fateful night in May. His family tried to escape the cyclone in their boat, but the boat was dashed to pieces by the waves. He saw his parents and siblings disappear one by one during the night. Htoo managed to survive by holding on to some wreckage until he landed on higher ground....