Aid Arakan Lead Story News Rohingya
Burmese authorities have agreed to allow the United Nations to resume distribution of food in northern Rakhine State which was suspended for two months, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
A UN settlement programme on Thursday rejected a Burmese state media report that it had agreed to help build housing for people fleeing violence in northern Arakan State, where an army operation has displaced hundreds of thousands.
Buddhists in Burma on Wednesday blocked aid workers from visiting a camp for displaced Muslims in the central part of Arakan State, where the United Nations fears the spread of violence that has already displaced hundreds of thousands.
Rohingya Muslim villagers cut off from food and threatened by Buddhist neighbours in Burma’s violence-wracked Arakan State received their first substantial food supplies in months on Wednesday after international pressure on the government to help.
Aid Arakan Lead Story News Rohingya
Muslim refugees seeking shelter in Bangladesh from “unimaginable horrors” in Burma face enormous hardship and risk a dramatic deterioration in circumstances unless aid is stepped up, the head of the UN refugee agency said on Monday.
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kachin State’s Tanai Township will face a shortage of rations by the end of this month, aid workers say.
“We will all have to ramp up our response massively, from food to shelter,” said the assistant high commissioner for operations at the U.N. refugee agency.
“We have only rice for survival,” said Saw Swe Tun, the camp administrator.
According to activist Nilar Thein, a truck carrying 100 sacks of rice was prevented from entering a camp in Sadone Township, Kachin State.
Most of the families are Rohingyas returning from Bangladesh, having fled their homes several months ago during an intense military crackdown in and around Maungdaw.
“Insurgents have opened their own so-called IDP camps, where they use the local people as human shields,” said Min Aung Hlaing.
“We would like to have access to all the people in need in order to do proper assessments, to help ease according to needs,” Peter Maurer said.
Many of the IDPs yesterday attempted to flee across the Chinese border to seek sanctuary but were turned back by the Chinese authorities.
Relief workers say that these internally displaced persons are urgently in need of blankets and warm clothing as the cold season sets in.
Foreign aid groups had previously been denied access to shelters amid ongoing clashes between government security forces and armed mobs.
Starting in 1988 with only four beds, the clinic has developed into a fully-fledged health facility providing inpatient services, surgery, dental care, vaccinations and HIV prevention.
“The Myanmar Tatmadaw [armed forces] consistently hinders food transportation to the most needed area in Kachin State,” says JST.
Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement says it has delivered humanitarian relief for over 3,800 villagers displaced by recent hostilities.
2015 Elections Aid Lead Story News
The United Nations has issued a directive to its staff restricting travel to Burma during the election period, citing possible disruptions.
Aid Education Karen Labour Issues Lead Story Migrants Issues News
NGOs are preparing for refugee camps to close by starting vocational training programs.
Aid Arakan Environment Health Lead Story Natural Disasters Natural resources News
Officials and aid workers warn that hundreds of communities face an acute shortage of clean water after floods contaminated ponds and wells.
Aid Lead Story Natural Disasters News
Unlike the callous indifference shown to suffering during Cyclone Nargis disaster in 2008, this time round the government and military led aid efforts.
In the Pegu Division town of Prome, a small band of fire fighters and volunteers work around the clock, evacuating flood stricken residents to safety.
Meanwhile in Arakan State, aid is being dropped from the skies.
Aid Chin Lead Story Natural Disasters News
Chin political parties urge President Thein Sein to order airlifts of emergency food aid to affected areas.
Aid Arakan Lead Story Natural Disasters News
Most of the casualties in Arakan were the result of boats capsizing or sinking on rivers. Some 130 rescue camps have been set up across the state.
Aid Kachin Lead Story News Refugees
After plans to visit IDPs in Sittwe were scuttled due to a cyclone warning, UN goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie Pitt flies to Myitkyina.
Aid Kachin Lead Story News Refugees
Hundreds of refugees in northern Kachin State are not receiving humanitarian aid, according to the Kachin Baptist Council (KBC).
Aid Conflict Lead Story News Video
Cross-border aid group Free Burma Rangers recently undertook a front-line mission to Iraq, where its team embedded with Kurdish forces fighting ISIS.
Burmese govt press cite sources claiming that relief supplies are ‘abundant’ in the camps.
Aid Lead Story Migrants Issues News Rohingya
Tony Abbott emphatically rejects suggestions that boat people could be resettled in Australia. Meanwhile, Canberra revises its aid package to Burma.
