AP

Posted: 2008-01-10 14:07:56

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Poor access and tight government control in military-ruled Myanmar have hampered efforts to provide food assistance in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, the U.N. World Food Program said Thursday.

One of the main challenges for the group is the military government’s control of the transportation system, said Chris Kaye, WFP’s country director in Yangon.

The group, like other international humanitarian organizations here, is required to get formal clearance from authorities to deliver food where it is needed, he said.

Although the hindrances haven’t been removed, there has been a recent easing of clearance procedures in northwestern Myanmar, helping to speed up the movement of food, Kaye said, adding that the WFP hoped to get a similar agreement for the rest of the country.

The WFP has supplied 500,000 people with food aid since it began its assistance program here last year, the group said in a statement. It plans to reach a total of 1.6 million vulnerable people at a total cost of $51.7 million for three years.

The WFP said last year that some 5 million people in Myanmar were chronically short of food. Myanmar has a population of 54 million.