The European Union as a whole (i.e., the 25 Member States and the Commission) is one of the world's main humanitarian aid donors; the Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) is the service of the European Commission responsible for this activity.

Myanmar is facing a deepening and largely unnoticed humanitarian crisis. Although rich in natural resources Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in Asia due to lack of respect for fundamental freedoms and persistent inter-ethnic conflict. Since the mid-1990s, ECHO aid has focussed on anti-malaria, health care and sanitation projects benefiting the most vulnerable victims of the crisis inside Myanmar and refugees along the Thai border. (boxun.com)

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Ethnic groups reside in Myanmar, most of which are to be found along the border regions. Ethnic groups alone make up around 40% of the population. Some groups defend their homelands against the government in an on-going, low-level-armed conflict. Since the early 1990s, the government has signed ceasefire agreements with a number of ethnic movements but lack of security remains a major problem in many border areas.

International and the United Nations regularly denounce human rights violations by the government. Since the mid 1990s, the European Union and other nations have imposed sanctions on Myanmar. The EU has restricted its support to funding humanitarian aid programmes which focus on improving the living conditions of the most vulnerable populations and strengthening fundamental freedoms.

Despite the presence of international aid organizations, the humanitarian crisis suffered by the people of Myanmar is largely unknown.

The number of internally displaced people in Myanmar is startling. Hundreds of thousands of Myanmar¡¯s 53 million population have been forced to flee from their homes or to relocate due to constant conflict between ethnic groups and the army. 150,000 have found refuge in camps on the Thai-Myanmar border. An estimated one million work in menial jobs in Thailand, often illegally.

Poverty, lack of food, poor infrastructure and inadequate education are pervasive problems crippling people¡¯s ability to cope throughout the country, particularly in the border regions. A quarter of the population is estimated to live below the poverty line. 70% of household expenditure is spent on food.

The state of the health sector is particularly alarming. Government expenditure on health per person is the lowest in the world. Many parts of the country, especially in the border areas, have no health service at all.Infant mortality is 7%, almost four times as high as in neighbouring Thailand. Life expectancy is 56 years, 25 years less than in Thailand.

Malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are the main health problems, followed by respiratory and water-borne diseases caused by lack of clean water. An estimated 34% of the rural population have no access to clean water and adequate sanitation facilities are unavailable to around 43% of them.

Since 1994 ECHO has funded programmes aimed at helping vulnerable groups in Myanmar itself and along the Thai-Myanmar border. In response to the worsening/deteriorating humanitarian situation, ECHO has tripled its annual funding from €6.5 million in 2001 to €19.4 million in 2004. In Myanmar 60% of ECHO financing is spent on the fight against malaria and the provision of basic health care in remote areas. About one third is dedicated to water and sanitation projects. The remainder is allocated to nutrition programmes with special emphasis on women and children.

ECHO also supports the International Red Cross in its mandate concerning respect of international humanitarian law. On the Thai border ECHO-funded projects mainly provide basic food and health care to refugees. ECHO also provides assistance to mine victims and supports mine awareness campaigns in this area.

ECHO works with about 180 implementing partners, mainly financing European non-governmental and international organisations with a permanent local presence. Operations are only funded in areas accessible to partners to allow for proper implementation and regular monitoring. One third of children under five in Burma are underweight. 80% of the population live in areas where malaria is endemic. The lack of financial backing and other resources (trained staff, equipment, efficient drugs) together with the high resistance of the parasite are factors which make malaria the country¡¯s main killer. Small children, pregnant women and the elderly are particularly at risk.

ECHO-funded malaria programmes are based on early detection of the parasite followed by effective treatment. This approach has had a considerable impact, saving thousands of lives each year. More than 460,000 people have benefited from primary health care and malaria programmes carried out by ECHO partners in 2004. One third of these beneficiaries were effectively treated for malaria.

Securing Basic Health Care

Basic health care is almost non-existent in many remote regions. In these areas, humanitarian organisations provide a basic, but often life-saving service to people who seldom have contact with medical professionals.

ECHO funds mobile clinics which have the ability to reach extremely remote areas. ECHO aid also finances the provision of essential drugs and basic medical supplies for rural health centres, and medical kits for local volunteers in the villages. Special staff training for rural health clinics and village volunteers helps strengthen local capacity.

About 30% of ECHO funding is directed towards water and sanitation projects with the aim of improving access to clean water. Rainwater collectors are being installed, village ponds are constructed or renovated, and wells drilled. These works are carried out with the participation of beneficiary communities who provide the proper maintenance of the water schemes.

In addition, latrines have been installed in primary schools and villages. Hygiene awareness campaigns are systematically carried out. The latter are an essential ingredient towards ensuring the successful implementation and guaranteeing the maximum benefit of the water and hygiene schemes.

Since 2004 ECHO aid has also concentrated on improving the living conditions of some 600 children living in two special centres called "training schools ". These children are orphans, former street children and children convicted of crimes. ECHO funds the rehabilitation of the school water and sanitation systems and the provision of basic education facilities.

ECHO's assistance includes support for nutrition programmes for women and children with limited access to food. Special nutrition centres have been set up in the eastern part of the country, providing food supplements and nutritional education to 8,000 malnourished mothers and children.

At the end of 2004, around 150,000 refugees from Myanmar were living in nine camps just inside the Thai border. Some have been living in the camps for over 20 years. The refugees are completely dependent on external aid for food, education and health services. With no immediate prospect of returning home their future appears bleak. ECHO supports the distribution of basic food items and cooking fuel in three of the refugee camps, benefiting about 75,000 refugees. Three key food items ¡§C rice, mung beans, and soybean cooking oil are supplied as part of the basic food basket.

Basic health needs are met through ECHO-funded clinics run by local medical staff, and through the supply of drugs and medical equipment. Special assistance is provided to mine victims and other disabled people in prosthesis workshops. Mine risk awareness campaigns are regularly held among refugees.

The tsunami last week probably killed more people in Burma, than were reported dead by the country's ruling military junta, but the region has not been independently surveyed because of tightly restricted access, experts say.

A team from Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee for the Red Cross hopes this week to tour the islands off the country's southern coast in the Andaman Sea, where damage is believed to be great. A U.N. team also is trying to survey southern Burma.

"I think it's very reasonable to assume that there's been quite significant death and destruction caused by the tsunami in Burma, just as it has elsewhere," said Tony Banbury, the World Food Program's regional director in Asia.

Burmese officials have reported that 53 people were killed across the country, which has 1,650 miles of coast on the Indian Ocean. In comparison, two of Burma's neighbors, Thailand and India, each lost thousands. And in Indonesia, more than 80,000 are confirmed dead.

Steven N. Ward, a geophysicist at the University of California at Santa Cruz, created a computer model of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami.According to the model, southern Burma "should have been hit equally" as hard as southern Thailand, he said.

"This earthquake was 1,000 kilometers long,¡¡À Ward added. " The aftershocks broke at least as far. I see no scientific reason why a tsunami wouldn't hit equally strong a few hundred kilometers north of southern Thailand.

Burma's government, run by a reclusive clique of military generals, is notoriously reticent about reporting on natural disasters and has been dismissive of foreign aid.

A government newspaper, the New Light of Myanmar, reported Saturday that 17 villages were destroyed. (boxun.com)