Weakening aid dollar squeezes Myanmar relief funds

By Tim Large

LONDON (Reuters) - Visa restrictions aren't the only hurdles facing aid groups scrambling to provide relief after Myanmar's cyclone -- they're also up against plain economics.

A weak greenback and soaring fuel and food prices mean a fistful of aid dollars today packs less punch than it would have in past disasters.

"The real concern right now is just getting things in," Monte Achenbach, vice president of international programmes at the American Refugee Committee, said on Monday.

"But the higher cost of doing business, so to speak, has got to reduce the amount of funding that will eventually get to beneficiaries. It means more money will need to be generated."

The United Nations last week appealed to world governments for $187 million (95.6 million pounds) to help 1.5 million survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which killed tens of thousands of people as it tore across the Irrawaddy Delta.

That money, along with millions raised by nongovernmental aid groups, will have to work harder than ever to buy food and fuel for transport in Southeast Asia's deadliest emergency since the 2004 tsunami.

How much harder?

Today the dollar is about 12.5 percent weaker than it was at the time of the tsunami, as measured against a basket of major world currencies. It is down almost 16 percent against the Thai baht.