ASEAN Press Conference to Release PONJA Report

The long awaited Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) Report will be presented to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers when they meet in Singapore on 20-21 July 2008. The ASEAN Chair, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, will preside over the launch of the report in Singapore on 21 July 2008. The report will be released concurrently in Yangon.

Secretary-General of ASEAN and Chair of the Task Force, Dr Surin Pitsuwan said, “We anticipate a comprehensive, credible and viable report based on the objective needs of the victims of Cyclone Nargis; a report that will be useful to help guide the relief and recovery efforts in cyclone-hit Myanmar, so that the medium-term needs of the Nargis victims are sufficiently addressed.”

PONJA is a joint assessment by ASEAN, the Government of Myanmar and the United Nations, with technical support from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The assessment relies on two approaches: a rapid household and community survey of more than 290 villages in the affected areas, and an economic assessment of the damage and losses by sector.

For information about attending the press conference and report launch, please contact the ASEAN Secretariat Media Office.

Press Release: ASEAN kicks-off the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment Process

Jakarta, 3 June 2008- ASEAN kicked-off the post-Nargis Joint Assessment yesterday on 2 June 2008. Participating in this joint assessment team are the ASEAN Emergency Rapid Assessment Team (ERAT), UN representatives and experts from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. “I have high hopes on the joint assessment team. Based on the assessment report that they will produce, we will be able to identify the needs of the Cyclone Nargis’ victims and intensify our efforts in the most needed areas,” said the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan.

The assessment, led by ASEAN and the UN, will produce a comprehensive report on the relief, recovery, and rehabilitation phases.

The first progress report will be available by the 3rd Task Force Meeting scheduled for 24-25 June 2008, with the final report due to be released in mid-July 2008.

Dr. Surin Pitsuwan will be in Yangon on 4 June 2008 to visit the ASEAN Task Force Office and meet with the members of the ASEAN ERAT.

“ASEAN is committed to helping our friends in Myanmar and will continue to do so,” said Dr. Surin. “The deployment of ASEAN ERAT is just the beginning of our commitments.”

Dr. Surin is scheduled to hold a press conference upon his return. Details of the press conference will be furnished when available.

New maps & information on humanitarian response available

The online Humanitarian Information Centre for Myanmar has posted new information including updated Maps showing estimated number of homeless in the affected townships of Southern Burma. To view the maps please click here...

HIC also keeps a calender of various cluster working groups meetings scheduled in Yangon. To access the latest information about cluster group meetings click here.

Another important resource for journalists is also available, a consolidated list of agencies involved in the relief effort by cluster group. To access their contact details click here.

Panel Discussion: Burma- After the Storm

Can a catastrophe drag the 'sick man of ASEAN' into the modern world?

Monday, June 2 at 8:00 pm
Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand
Penthouse, Maneeya Center, 518/5 Ploenchit Road, Patumwan, Bangkok
(connected to the BTS Skytrain Chitlom station)

Call it a rainfall effect, but arguably nothing has done more to threaten Burma’s official refusal to engage with the outside world than a cyclone disaster that has already killed over a hundred thousand people - and may kill many more in its largely unmanaged aftermath. The outside world’s almost complete inability to help the over two million ordinary Burmese affected by the disaster is leading to a complete re-evaluation of how this isolated and backward country should be handled. Will a belated outpouring of aid go to the next logical step: a reduction in sanctions? Will Senior General Than Shwe honour his word and allow in all foreign aid workers? Why are we discussing billions in reconstruction aid before the dead have even been buried or burnt, or the survivors fed and medicated?

Speakers include:
Derek Tonkin, the outspoken former British Ambassador to Vietnam and Thailand
Aung Naing Oo, the former foreign affairs secretary of the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF)
Larry Jagan, veteran freelance journalist with a special interest in Burma

PSAs in Burmese for Cyclone Survivors now available

Two public service announcements have been developed for broadcast on Burmese radio. These PSAs have important information for journalists and stringers who intend to travel to the worst affected areas.

• To access the first set of PSAs on water and sanitation, click here...
• The access the second set of PSAs on precautions for people handling bodies of victims, click here...