EURO-MP WELCOMES EXTRA CYCLONE AID FOR BANGLADESH

7.25.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 15th Apr 2008

News of a new EU aid package of nearly £10 million for the victims of last November's Bangladeshi cyclone has been welcomed by a local Euro-MP.

Commenting, Liz Lynne, LibDem MEP for the West Midlands region and member of the European Parliament's Development Committee and delegation to South Asia, said:

"This new aid package is good news for a country still reeling from the effects of the cyclone. Many people are still coping with a shortage of food so this is rightly where the first of the aid will go.

"Much of the rest is desperately needed to provide people with clean water and sanitation because diarrhoea and water-borne diseases are still a serious risk. This is in part because the cyclone hit at such a disastrous time, between serious flooding and the monsoon rains.

"Although governments and other organisations such as the EU Commission have donated large sums, praise must also be given to charities and NGOs, such as Birmingham-based Islamic Relief and others in the West Midlands who contributed vital funds in the aftermath of the cyclone."

Cyclone Sidr hit coastal south-western Bangladesh on the 15th November 2007 with winds of 135 mph causing almost 3500 reported deaths, with many thousands still unaccounted for. Nine million people were affected through damage to property, livelihoods, food stocks, sanitation and other infrastructure.