The Minister of Foreign Affairs is to provide humanitarian aid to the people injured or harmed by the Nargis cyclone in Burma. PLN 0.5 million will be transferred to support UNICEF’s work in coordinating an international aid operation.  Transferring funds to the international coordinating institution is the fastest way for the Polish support to reach the people of Burma. UNICEF has already started to estimate the needs and provide humanitarian aid. Additionally, the organisation has pre-stocked supplies of staple products located in the region and plans urgent deliveries of further supplies.
        Other states and organisations have joined the efforts aimed at helping the people of Burma. On 6th May 2008, the European Commission issued a communiqué announcing the transfer of EUR 2 million for humanitarian aid for Burma. 
        Cyclone Nargis hit Burma during the night of 2nd to 3rd May 2008. The death toll has reached several tens of thousands and thousands more remain missing. So far, the most severe damage has been recorded in the coastal provinces, particularly in the city of Bogolay in the Irrawaddy Delta area. 
        In line with the Polish international aid program for 2008, PLN 7 million will be allocated to humanitarian aid operations. From this sum, PLN 200 thousand has so far been spent on humanitarian aid for Kenya and Kyrgyzstan.  Additional payments of PLN 1.5 million have been planned to support the Central Emergency Response Fund.

Piotr Paszkowski
MFA Press Spokesman