Brown makes British aid pledge to cyclone-hit Burma » Central government » 24dash.com

Gordon Brown pledged today that Britain would do everything possible to ease suffering in disaster-hit Burma, as the death toll continued to rise.

At least 15,000 people are believed to have been killed in the devastation wreaked by a massive cyclone.

An international aid effort is under way, with hundreds of thousands thought to be without clean water or shelter.

Some remote areas have yet to be reached by rescuers - meaning the figures could increase even further.

Speaking at a summit of business leaders in central London today, the Prime Minister said: "I believe nearly a million people are now in need of food aid and we will have to help the families of those where people have died.

"I want to pledge on behalf of the British Government that we will work with the whole international community to make sure that food aid is available to the people of Burma."

Cyclone Nargis smashed into Burma on Saturday, bringing winds of up to 120mph. More deaths were caused by a resulting 12-foot wave than the cyclone itself, according to the Burmese authorities.

In the city of Bogalay in the Irrawaddy river delta, 95% of homes are thought to have been destroyed.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said the organisation would do "whatever (possible) to provide urgent humanitarian assistance".

Despite initial concerns from the international community, the state's secretive ruling junta has agreed to accept aid - although there are still questions over how much access foreign teams will be allowed.

The Department for International Development (DfID) later announced that it was providing £5 million in immediate aid for Burma, which will be channelled through the UN and charities.

An emergency field team will also be deployed to the country imminently, a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Burmese state radio disclosed that the confirmed death toll had now risen to more than 22,000, with a further 41,000 people still missing.

Shadow international development secretary Andrew Mitchell said the Burmese regime must allow access to the international aid effort, while he called on the UN to conduct a "comprehensive needs assessment".

"As we saw with the Asian tsunami, we need to know that the aid we give is exactly what is needed. Inappropriate aid can be worse than no aid at all," he said.

"The Burmese government must give unfettered access for the international humanitarian relief effort. A key lesson from the tsunami is the need for the international response to dovetail with the local relief effort.

"Trying to go against the grain doesn't work. We need to persuade the Burmese authorities to be as cooperative as possible."