ims get into trouble. They have to give to the government or do it secretly. They follow international aid trucks everywhere. They don't want others to take credit. That's the Myanmar government." Highlighting the many challenges ahead, a Red Cross boat carrying rice, drinking water and other goods for more than 1,000 people sank Sunday near hard-hit Bogalay town. All four aid workers on board were safe.
Horsey, the U.N. spokesman, said the boat incident demonstrates the "major logistical bottleneck in getting this (aid) stuff from Yangon out to the people who need it, particularly in the delta."
He said authorities must allow not only goods to come in urgently but also expedite visas for foreign experts and allowing equipment into the country.
"The authorities of the country need to open up to an international relief effort. There aren't enough boats, trucks, helicopters in the country to run the relief effort of the scale we need," he said. "It's urgent that the authorities do open themselves up."
He said the U.N. is getting "a lot of reports" of widespread diarrhea outbreaks in the delta, but not on an epidemic scale. Malaria and dengue could also become a problem.
"But basic shelter, clean water and emergency food will be the thing that if we can get it out fast enough will prevent hopefully these major problems," he said.
The Myanmar junta's refusal to accept foreign help stems from its strained relations with the international community, especially the West, which has regularly criticized its refusal to allow democracy.
Relations are especially uneasy with the United States, which the junta considers an enemy.
The acceptance of the U.S. relief flight Monday could be "beginning of a long line of assistance from the United States," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters in Crawford, Texas, over the weekend. "They're going to need our help for a long time."
The plane carried 28,000 pounds (12,700 kilograms) of supplies, including mosquito nets, blankets and water in an operation dubbed "Joint Task Force Carrying Response."
Lt. Col. Douglas Powell, the U.S. Marines spokesman for the operation, said the United States had 11,000 servicemen and four ships in the region for an annual military exercise, Cobra Gold, which could be harnessed to help the mercy mission.
British aid group Oxfam said Sunday that the death toll could rise as high as 1.5 million if people do not get clean water and sanitation soon.
"A natural disaster is turning into a humanitarian catastrophe of genuinely epic proportions in significant part because of the malign neglect of the regime," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.
