Following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Mocha in Bangladesh and Myanmar, the Australian government has committed an additional $12.5 million to assist with the region’s immediate humanitarian needs.
When it landed on May 14, Tropical Cyclone Mocha wreaked havoc across Myanmar and Bangladesh, affecting an estimated two and a half million people and making an already dire humanitarian situation much worse.
As part of the response plan being managed by the United Nations in Myanmar, Australia will contribute $10.5 million to help support the 1.6 million people who have been affected. This support will be supplied to UN agencies and humanitarian partners rather than the military government itself to ensure that it does not provide direct benefits to the regime or legitimize it.
In Bangladesh, the Australian government will donate $2 million to humanitarian organizations, the majority of which will go toward assisting Bangladeshi communities in the most badly impacted regions.
Following Australia’s original gift of $1 million, this takes Australia’s total contribution to the relief operations for Tropical Cyclone Mocha to $13.5 million. The initial contribution was made by Australia. The immediate distribution of aid materials and the conduct of impact assessments were the primary focuses of our initial assistance.
We will continue to put pressure on the military leadership in Myanmar to ensure that aid workers have access to the country in a secure and unhindered manner.
