British aid agencies today launched a major appeal on behalf of the victims of the Burmese cyclone.
With the scale of the humanitarian disaster increasing by the day, the Disasters Emergency Committee - an umbrella group for 13 major aid organisations including Oxfam and Save the Children - said a coordinated national appeal for donations was needed.
Aid is now starting to reach some of the worst affected areas, but access to remote regions that are still under floodwater is proving difficult for rescue teams.
More than 22,000 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, with 40,000 missing, and the UN today said it expected those numbers to rise "dramatically".
It said more than 1 million people had been left homeless, and clean water was imperative to stop disease from spreading.
World Vision, the Red Cross and Save the Children, among the charities with a long-term presence in Burma, are already distributing clean drinking water, hygiene kits and emergency relief supplies.
Brendan Gormley, the chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee, said: "Our members are there and need the UK public to show huge generosity to help them reach those thousands of people who have seen their lives and livelihoods uprooted by this disaster."
The UN and governments said they remained concerned that the repressive Burmese military authorities were not giving aid workers full access to the country.
Today, the Foreign Office said aid would not be effective unless the ruling junta opened up the country more to international rescue teams.
Lord Malloch Brown, the foreign office minister, said the Burmese government wanted to take care of matters itself.
"We committed £5m yesterday," he told MPs on the foreign affairs select committee.
"But I have to say for that to be effective the Burmese authorities have got to show a much greater willingness to allow in international assessment teams and operational teams for the distribution of aid.
"As of this moment, even the initial UN assessment teams have not been granted visas to enter the country."
The minister said he could not see how emergency supplies would "get out and [be] distributed across the country where they are needed without some international presence".
To find out more about the appeal, visit dec.org.uk or telephone 0870 60 60 900.
