ASEAN foreign ministers are scheduled on Monday to look into a report assessing relief and recovery progress in Cyclone Nargis-struck Myanmar nearly three months after the country's worst disaster hit, leaving around 140,000 people dead or missing in May.
The report, which was drawn up by on-the-ground experts working under a tripartite cooperation between the military junta, the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is set for release Monday as the foreign ministers officially kick off the 41st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Singapore.
The tripartite mechanism was a result of political compromise, after ASEAN convinced its youngest member to open up to foreign aid workers and ensure that the mechanism worked to coordinate much-needed international assistance.
Dian Triansyah Djani, director general for ASEAN affairs at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, said the tripartite cooperation proved that ASEAN's mechanisms as a regional grouping worked and that it could collaborate with international elements in responding to a disaster.
Myanmar, often seen as the "bad boy" of the bloc, was widely slammed for initially turning away all foreign aid workers and insisting on receiving donations only.
With the massive scale of the devastation, similar to that of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, this was ASEAN's first time playing a lead role in responding to a natural disaster affecting a member country.
"I'm personally proud given that Indonesia has been so intensively involved in the process, sending a number of our experts, and particularly since our experience with the tsunami contributed so much to the response. We will continue to offer our expertise and service," Dian said.
Parts of Indonesia's Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province were devastated by a tsunami in December 2004, killing almost 200,000 people. Jakarta immediately admitted foreign workers and military personnel for a humanitarian operation of unprecedented scale, earning praise from the international community.
The post-Nargis report will provide the first comprehensive picture and analysis of the cyclone's impact, with heavy emphasis on the need to financially support devastated communities in the reclusive Myanmar.
Assistance for repair and grants for livelihoods is the highest priority, given that the cyclone wiped out hectares of agricultural land, as well as fishing boats and homes.
The cyclone also damaged access to clean water. With the monsoon season underway, experts say providing shelters and helping with rainwater collection is critical to reducing the risk of disease outbreaks.
In terms of international financial assistance, humanitarian agencies, including the UN, appealed earlier this month for a further US$303.6 million to fund relief efforts to assist an estimated 2.4 million affected people.
Schools and religious centers are two of the most urgent rebuilding priorities.
The report says most of Myanmar's post-Nargis needs are at the community level and can be addressed through community-based approaches -- meaning involving communities in all stages.
That principle, it says, should direct future relief and recovery efforts because -- applied as part of a continued inclusive process between Myanmar, the international community and local communities -- it is essential in meeting the needs of the cyclone-affected population and helping build the resilience of Myanmar communities to prepare for future disasters.
Following the submission of the assessment report, ASEAN's foreign ministers will provide a set of further directions for future relief and early recovery phase in the next 12 months.
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