United Nations Radio

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has confirmed that the UN Humanitarian Coordinator will travel to Myanmar to help tackle the crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis which struck the country almost two weeks ago.

Mr. Ban told journalists following a meeting he called on Wednesday with major donors and other member states that although the government of Myanmar had shown more flexibility, there was an urgent need to reach the suffering people with relief items and humanitarian supplies.

UN Spokesperson, Michele Montas, says OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs believes as many as two and a half million people are in need of urgent assistance...

"The next few days will be crucially important in reaching the suffering people with the necessary relief items and humanitarian goods."

The Secretary-General said participants at Wednesday evening's meeting, which lasted several hours, expressed concern that the international community's commitment to provide assistance to Myanmar not be "politicized". They agreed on the need to work together, in particular with the ASEAN countries, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and with the cooperation of the government of Myanmar.

The World Food Programme and its partners have dispatched over 700 tonnes of rice, high-energy buscuits and beans to more than 70,000 people since Cyclone Nargis struck.

For United Nations Radio, I'm Dianne Penn.

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