UN says 1.5 mln dlrs of cyclone aid lost in Myanmar forex rules

15-08-2008


AFP/File – Storm survivors gather in the rain to collect relief goods from private donors in Mawlattmyinchun in …
YANGON (AFP) – The United Nations estimates that 1.56 million dollars of international cyclone aid has been lost due to the military regime's complex foreign currency rules, a top official said Thursday.

The figure given by Daniel Baker, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar, was significantly lower than earlier estimates of money lost due to the regulations, which forbid the use of foreign currency inside the country.

"The loss in value due to foreign exchange for the Cyclone Nargis international humanitarian aid during the last three months has been about 1.56 million dollars," Baker said in a joint statement by the UN, Myanmar's government and the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"We are not getting the full value of dollars donated for emergency relief, and donors are extremely worried and keen to see that this issue is resolved," Baker added.

John Holmes, the UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, last month had estimated that the losses could amount to 10 million dollars, or about 15 percent of the aid delivered to Myanmar.

The latest accounting was based on the amount of money actually changed by the United Nations inside Myanmar since the cyclone struck on May 2, leaving 138,000 dead or missing.