FYI: 

BANGKOK, 21 April 2010 (IRIN) - The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) is to conclude its activities in Myanmar's cyclone-affected Ayeyarwady Delta at the end of May.
 
“The decision to wind down ECHO assistance to those affected by Cyclone Nargis was taken during the second half of 2009, as we assessed that the level of acute humanitarian needs had decreased significantly in the course of last year,” Christophe Reltien, ECHO’s head of office in Myanmar, told IRIN from Yangon.
 
“What is needed now is longer-term development assistance,” he said.
 
The last Nargis project funded by ECHO will officially end on 31 May 2010.
 
More than 138,000 people lost their lives when the cyclone slammed into Myanmar’s southern Ayeyarwady delta on 2 and 3 May 2008, affecting 2.4 million people and leaving nearly half of them in need of assistance.
 
ECHO's mandate is to provide emergency assistance and relief to the victims of natural disasters or armed conflict.
 
“Overall, after 24 months of tremendous efforts by our partners and other organizations, the humanitarian situation can be categorized as satisfactory,” Reltien said.
 
However, challenges remain, he said, citing the re-establishment of livelihoods so that communities can again become self-sustaining.
 
“These needs have to be addressed in the medium- to long-term,” the ECHO official said.