Good news for Burmese cyclone survivors today as the junta announced the approval for the use of five extra helicopters by the UN World Food Program. Up until this time, the aid relief operation has been hamstrung by the fact that only one helicopter had been used to deliver aid into the further reaches of the Irrwaddy Delta which were the most devastated when cyclone Nargis ripped through the region in early May. According to aid experts, part of the success of international aid efforts in previous disasters and the tsunami in particular, was the presence of helicopters. The importance of their use in the delta region cannot be overstated. Many of the most remote areas of the region are still unreachable overland as the damage to roads has been extensive. Although some areas are reachable by boat, by far the most effective and timely manner in which to assist the survivors in this region is by helicopter. Some Burmese aid groups made up of volunteers claim that there are still populations who have not seen any aid whatsoever. Perhaps the best chances of survival for groups such as these are the use of helicopters.

The addition of five extra helicopters will make a huge difference to both the survivors and the work of the WFP. Any positive moves by the junta should be welcomed, as they seem to be reasonably rare lately, however it should still be noted that not enough is getting done. The announcement this week that the US naval vessels off the coast are to be repositioned, after failing to secure permission to assist in the aid effort is a disgrace and will cost lives. Furthermore, the loss of these ships, and more relevant here, their helicopters means that a great financial burden has been passed on to the WFP. The US navy had been prepared to grant the use of 12 helicopters toward the aid effort, but this was not enough for the junta to grant their permission on the grounds that military hardware use in the operation was unacceptable. Granted, there is an argument to be made here based on the hostile rhetoric put out by the US government about Burma in recent times, as well as their harsh sanctioning. Regardless of that however, the prospect of the US invading Burma, which is of limited strategic value is preposterous. Meanwhile, people are starving to death in the delta and viable means of saving their lives are being rejected by the junta for the sake of assuaging their suspicions over US intentions. The bottom line however is that the WFP have now had to procure helicopters from other sources. Thus far the Australia has helped to fly in helicopters on cargo planes from South Africa and there have been others flown in from Ukraine. The transportation costs, as well as those of fuel, maintenance crews, pilots and the fees per hour to use this equipment is enormous. Thus far it is estimated that the WFP has spent around one million dollars just in getting the helicopters to the region. That is one million dollars that could have been spent on supplies for victims, has the junta been far sighted enough to allow the use of the US military helicopters. With the WFP only receiving around 64 percent of its requested operating budget, there is considerable strain on its finances already. The added burden from having to do the job of a national government is only taking away food from the mouths of survivors.

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