Press Release

One Year on: ASEAN Calls for Intensified Support to Survivors of Cyclone Nargis
Yangon, Myanmar, 2 May 2009

On behalf of Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr SOEUNG Rathchavy, Deputy

Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, visited the Ayeyarwardy Delta today
to commemorate Cyclone Nargis which hit Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008, causing unprecedented
destruction, taking 140,000 lives and leaving 2.4 million people severely affected.

Dr Rathchavy urged for continued support from the international community and stressed the importance
of a close and effective partnership within the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), particularly as the recovery
phase has started.

During her trip, Dr Rathchavy was accompanied by the Head of Operations/ASEAN Chief Technical
Advisor and Special Envoy of the ASEAN Secretary-General for Post-Nargis Recovery in Myanmar, Dr
William Sabandar; TCG Chairman and Chairman of the Civil Service Selection and Training Board,
Myanmar, U Kyaw Thu; other senior members of the TCG; and ASEAN volunteers. She met the survivors
of the Cyclone in the Delta and donated school bags and T-shirts to school children and villagers in
Bogale, Pyapone, and Kungyangon Township.

Together with the TCG members, she also donated 70 fishing boats to villagers of Tha Htay Gone
Village, Bogale Township and inaugurated a newly reconstructed bridge which had collapsed in Tha Leik
Gyi Village, Pyapone Township as a result of the Cyclone. The donation of boats and reconstruction of
the bridge are a part of TCG projects in the townships, implemented by TCG partners and ASEAN
volunteers, to recover the affected people’s livelihoods.

“It is heartening to see that relief and early recovery assistance has reached the people affected
by Cyclone Nargis. However, as we pay tribute to those who passed away during the Cyclone, we
must not forget the lives of those who survived the Cyclone. Relief and recovery efforts must be
intensified, especially when the monsoon is approaching,” said Dr Rathchavy.

Another ASEAN volunteer project will be implemented in Labutta Township in May 2009 to ensure that
affected villagers have access to permanent shelter, drinking water, and sanitation and to restore their
livelihoods.

“We would like to thank the support of the Embassy of Thailand in Myanmar for its support in
setting up our coordinating office in Yangon. We are also grateful for the generous support from
the donor community, which enables us to continue our assistance to the Cyclone-affected
people in Myanmar,” added Dr Rathchavy.

ASEAN and other components of the TCG are currently conducting the second Periodic Review to
monitor humanitarian needs on the ground and implementing the three-year Post-Nargis Recovery and
Preparedness Plan (PONREPP) which aims to restore productive, healthy, and protected lives for
survivors of Cyclone Nargis.