Sector Status

Logistics

The World Food Program (WFP) is the cluster lead, supported by the UNJLC. UN says there is a pressing need for funding for the logistics operation. Only US$20 million of the US$50 million required have been received. These funds are needed to extend the outreach of the operation from the hubs to those villages that have yet to receive assistance. (OCHA, June 6)

Yangon Airport remains the primary hub. The template for all procedures is at http://www.logcluster.org/mm08a. Bangkok’s former international Don Muang Airport (DMK) is the main staging area for foreign relief with daily flights to Yangon. Air capacity is 190 MT a day. DMK has roughly 300 MT of cargo in the warehouse. (LC, June 6)

The logistics cluster is now operating a 4,000 square meter (sqm) inter-agency warehouse in Yangon, a fleet of 35 trucks with four barges with four barge pushers (total capacity = 2,650 tons), and three boats (total capacity = 1,250 MT). 1 jetty identified in Yangon. Transit time to the delta by barge is between three and six days. WFP says it has a fleet of some 30 boats to help with deliveries in the delta. (IRIN, June 3) 540 MT of relief are currently stored in the warehouse.

A total of 2,275 MT of relief have been dispatched from Yangon to the delta (93 percent by inland waterways from boat barges and 13 percent by trucks) by the cluster from May 2. 45 MT shipped today. (LC, June 6)

UN says there are indications that the process to receive authorization to travel to the delta is currently taking more than 2-3 days. (OCHA, June 6)

Smaller boats with a capacity of 1-5 MTs are being sought for use in the delta. Cluster continues to source small boats for purchase. (LC, June 5)

The first WFP helicopter, which arrived in Yangon on May 22, began deliveries to the delta on June 2. Three are suited for cargo only, while seven can be used for cargo and passengers. Only seven government helicopters are operating in the delta. (AP, June 3) On June 6 the helicopter flew with relief items to Labutta, Pet Pye and Daunt Chaung. (LC, June 6) Five helicopters have been cleared to come in Friday (June 6) but due to bad weather will be arriving Saturday (June 7). UNJLC says that by Monday (June 9), all 10 helicopters should be available in Myanmar. (UNJLC, June 6)

Thailand has so far sent 19 flights of aid to Myanmar. (GoT, June 6)

Logistics hubs storage updates:

Mawlanyaingyun: 2,000 tons available in MAPT w/h.

Labutta: 7 Mobile Storage Units (MSUs) 1,120 sqm. (240sqm for UNICEF, 560 for WFP, 380 available)

Pathein: 1200 sqm under negotiation.

Pyapon: 2 MSUs up. Easily accessible by truck. 1,680 sqm operational. 240 sqm dedicated to CARE and 480 sqm under construction.

Bogalay: 2 MSUs up. 1,200 sqm operational. (240 sqm dedicated to UNICEF, 240 to WFP and 240 to IOM.) 720 sqm under construction.

The cluster has 16 operational warehouses and 14 additional warehouses are expected to become operational in the coming weeks. (UN, June 3)

World Vision reported the following traveling times:

Yangon – Kyaiklat: 3 hours by road

Yangon – Bogalay: 4.5 hours by road

Yangon – Pyapon: 3.5 hours by road

Pyapon –Mawlamyinegyun: 1.5 hours from Pyapon by river by boat

Food

WFP appealed for US$69.5 million to provide a complete food basket to 750,000 people, for a total of 380 MT a day, but now estimates that 1.5 million require food assistance. (IRIN, June 3). So far WFP has US$21.3 million, including US$5 million from the CERF, and has fed 575,000 people with a two-week ration of rice. If more money is not pledged, the agency says it will run out by mid-July. The food cluster is currently 21 percent funded. (OCHA, June 4)

WFP and partners delivered 11,046 tons to affected areas and distributed 5,316 tons of food. WFP estimates that it has reached approximately 501,000 beneficiaries with varying rations. (OCHA, June 6)

To date, 5,800 persons received weekly cash assistance in Yangon. The planned number of beneficiaries in Yangon is 200,000. (OCHA, June 6)

WFP expects a pipeline break by the end of July due to two factors: 1) Resource availability. WFP received confirmation for about 35 percent or US$25 million in contribution against the total requirement of US$70 million. Although it forecasts that 60 percent will be covered eventually, the immediate availability of cash may be a problem. 2) In-country availability of rice. The total requirement for the 6-month operation is 46,500 tons, WFP would likely need to import up to half of this to source without undue impact on the domestic market. Delay or denial by the GoM will result in a pipeline break. (OCHA, June 4)

More imports might be needed if farmers cannot plant crops by the end of July, when 80 percent of the country’s rice is normally grown. (Reuters, June 4)

WFP says that along with its partners, it can distribute some 400 MT of food a day. (IRIN, June 3) The Cluster estimates the monthly food requirement at 8,933 tons. WFP plans to cover 11 townships in Irrawaddy and eight in Yangon. WFP has two sub-offices in Labutta and Bogalay.

WFP is providing enough cash for four weeks of food to 200,000 affected people in Yangon.

WFP emergency food assistance rations are composed of 400g of rice, 100g of pulses, 30g of vegetable oil and 5g of iodized salt per day per person. The monthly food basket for a family of five has 60 kg of rice, 15 kg of pulses, 4.5 kg of oil and .75 kg of iodizes salt.

Shelter

UNHCR leads the shelter cluster and is supporting the IFRC, which was designated the in-country cluster lead. UNHCR is asking for US$6 million from the Flash Appeal to help 250,000 people with shelter materials within the next six weeks. The cluster has so far received funds of US$14,750,000 from the UN Flash Appeal and IFRC Appeal. (OCHA, June 4)

There is an urgent need for substantial amounts of tarpaulins, given that stocks in the country have been depleted. (OCHA, June 6)

UNHCR has so far airlifted and trucked in more than 430 tons of relief items to affected areas. Partners are distributing shelter and household items in the delta and affected areas around Yangon. (OCHA, June 6)

UNHCR is setting up field units in Labutta and Bogalay.

IFRC said at least 1.5 million people remain homeless in the delta. The UN estimates that until recently around 260,000 people had been in temporary camps in 14 townships. (IRIN, June 3) There have been reports of the government evicting people from some camps.

Agencies have reported a possible shortage of shelter goods in the coming weeks as distribution capacity exceeds the pipeline for incoming goods. With the increase of the in-country logistical capacity, this will become the biggest bottleneck in the near future. (OCHA, June 4)

Shelter kits have been renamed: Family kit is now called Relief kit. Shelter kit is now Tarp Kit and Hamlet kit is now Community tool kit. The cluster has standardized three types of kits. The first is a tool for a group of 10 or more households. The second is a basic building material kit, one per household. The third is a Non-Food Items (NFI) kit. 102,000 Household Tarp Kits, 13,000 Community Tool Kits and 6,300 Household Relief Kits have been distributed so far. (OCHA, June 4)

Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) leads the health cluster, which comprises 22 international NGOs and UN agencies. Merlin is cluster co-lead. Cluster projects submitted to the CERF amount to US$4 million. WHO is calling for US$28 million to fund a six-month action plan to rebuild the health care system. At least 50 percent of health structures were damaged or destroyed. The health cluster is 64 percent funded. (OCHA, June 6)

Cluster sub-groups have been formed on HIV/AIDS, Early Recovery and psychosocial support. The cluster has established three operations centers in Pathein, Labutta and Bogalay. WHO launched the Early Warning Disease Surveillance System known as the Early Warning Reporting System (EWARS).

Members of the Korean medic team are going to provide services in Kunyangon for 12 days starting from today. (OCHA, June 6)

Teams comprising 6 WHO experts from various public health fields and a senior MoH Officer headed by W.R. are in the field for a week. Two trucks of medical supplies have been sent for distribution. (OCHA, June 6)

The technical working group on mental health and psychosocial support agreed on the development of a training program for general duty medical officers in managing select mental illnesses; the training of nurses of Yangon Mental Health Hospital (50 nurses) on psychosocial interventions after a disaster; an assessment of psychological distress in a sample in each of the 6 most affected townships; and the provision of psychotropic drugs to all in need in the affected area. (OCHA, June 6)

Doctors from the Myanmar Medical Association are joining mobile service teams funded by UNFPA to provide emergency reproductive health services including safe delivery. The first team is being deployed today to two villages in Pyapon. (OCHA, June 6)

Three joint MOH/WHO mobile Health Teams will go next week (7 days) to Laputta, Ngaputaw and Bogolay with two aims: Trace TB patients who interrupted treatment and to provide general curative and public health services (non TB). (OCHA, June 6)

Volunteers are being trained as part of a network of 200 first aid and health education posts being set up in Irrawaddy and Yangon divisions. IFRC says the posts are part of a six-month emergency phase of a three-year program to strengthen the MRCS’ emergency health capacity. (IFRC, June 5)

International medical teams have been deployed as follows: China-Kungyangon; Thailand (two teams) – Mawlamyinegyun; Bangladesh – Wakema; India – Bogalay and Pyapon; Singapore- Twantay; Philippines- Pathein; Japan- Labutta; Indonesia - Kawhmu. Medical teams from more than 70 countries are expected to arrive in the next 3-6 months.

The Health Cluster Joint Plan of Action objectives are: Assess and monitor health needs and strengthen disease surveillance; Respond to outbreaks and other health threats, strengthen disease control and fill critical health care gaps; Strengthen and repair systems and build capacity; Engage partners to coordinate a joint health sector response. (OCHA, June 2)

Nutrition

About one-third of Myanmar’s children are malnourished, including 30,000 under five who were acutely malnourished before Nargis. Save the Children says