Visa restrictions are not the only hurdles facing aid groups
scrambling to provide relief after Myanmar's cyclone - they're also
up against plain economics.
A weak greenback and soaring fuel and food prices mean a fistful of
aid dollars today packs less punch than it would have in past
disasters.
"The real concern right now is just getting things in," Monte
Achenbach, vice president of international programmes at the
American Refugee Committee, said.
"But the higher cost of doing business, so to speak, has got to
reduce the amount of funding that will eventually get to
beneficiaries. It means more money will need to be
generated."
The United Nations last week appealed to world governments for $187
million ($NZ242.6 million) to help 1.5 million survivors of Cyclone
Nargis, which killed tens of thousands of people as it tore across
the Irrawaddy Delta.
That money, along with millions raised by non-governmental aid
groups, will have to work harder than ever to buy food and fuel for
transport in Southeast Asia's deadliest emergency since the 2004
tsunami.
How much harder?
Today the dollar is about 12.5% weaker than it was at the time of
the tsunami, as measured against a basket of major world
currencies.
It is down almost 16% against the Thai baht.
Global crude oil prices have surged more than five-fold since 2002
and are up nearly 25% since the start of 2008.
That makes it more expensive to deliver aid by ship, plane and
truck.
Meanwhile, global prices of staple foods have risen more than 40%
in the past year, causing shortages, hoarding and riots in some
poor countries.
Fuel costs
The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) said last month the
price it had to pay for a tonne of rice had jumped to $780
($NZ1,011) a tonne from $460 ($NZ596) in February.
Aid experts say that triple-whammy spells a decline in the value of
the aid dollar that could prove deadly in Myanmar.
"What is clear is that this operation is going to be hugely costly
because air transport and air drops...are going to be colossally
expensive," said Brendan Gormley, head of British charity umbrella
group the Disasters Emergency Committee.
"So we are desperate that donors understand both the scale of the
tragedy and the potential costs and do what they can to help us
meet that."
Of the United Nations' $187 million appeal, $56 million ($NZ72.6
million) is earmarked for food purchases and almost $53 million
($NZ68.7 million) for logistics and transport, reflecting the high
costs of food and fuel - especially inside Myanmar.
"I think fuel has gone up 500% and food has almost doubled (in
Myanmar)," said Jean Michel Grand, director of aid agency Action
Against Hunger UK, adding that one oil refinery had been destroyed
by the cyclone and another damaged.
But as relief teams and supplies get into place for a tsunami-style
international aid operation in the former Burma - pending only
permission from the ruling junta - some aid workers said the weaker
aid dollar was just a secondary concern.
"The reality is that crises like this are so much within the
public eye that they're the ones that quite frankly are going to
get funded," said WFP spokesman Greg Barrow.
"If the floodgates were open I imagine that the world, led by
governments and public donations, would find the money for whatever
Burma needs because there's such a lot of sympathy for the people
there."
Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the cyclone relief effort can do so through various aid agencies. For details CLICK HERE
