Oregonian: Boeing May be the Ticket for Relief Supplies

By RICHARD READ

Oregon aid agencies aim to piggyback on Boeing's booming sales to China, loading earthquake-relief supplies in new jets being delivered to Chinese airlines.

Managers of Medical Teams International are negotiating to send $470,000 worth of supplies that Mercy Corps would help distribute to earthquake victims in China. A Boeing spokesperson says the aircraft manufacturer has entered similar deals in the past, but rarely in urgent response to humanitarian disasters.

Boeing and the relief workers are reviewing 15 aircraft that have been ordered by Chinese airlines, said Barbara Agnew, spokeswoman for Tigard-based Medical Teams International. The jets are scheduled for delivery to six Chinese cities, she said.

"None of these destinations are actually hubs that are near the disaster site," Agnew said. "So they're going back to specific airlines and saying, 'Would you be able to take this cargo to a closer hub?' "

The Boeing deal is one of several the humanitarian organizations are feverishly negotiating as disaster estimates grow in both China and cyclone-hit Myanmar. The aid agencies are forming partnerships to overcome government restrictions and other obstacles in the two countries.

Mercy Corps plans to load items ranging from school kits to rubber gloves in Portland for delivery in Seattle to DHL International. The global delivery company plans to fly the supplies for free to Bangkok, Thailand, for distribution in Myanmar and perhaps China, also providing warehouse space.

DHL is also working with Mercy Corps on a charter flight to carry pharmaceuticals from the United States to China. "Something like this would be impossible for us to do on our own," said Susan Laarman, a Mercy Corps spokeswoman, saying the charter otherwise could cost as much as $1 million.

In Myanmar, where the government has kept foreign relief workers out of hard-hit areas, Portland-based Mercy Corps expects to team with Merlin, a British organization already working inside the reclusive country. As with the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Mercy Corps will most likely launch cash-for-work programs, paying local people to repair roads, clear debris and rebuild houses.

Already Mercy Corps has helped Merlin secure boats to carry emergency medical kits to Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, which took the brunt of the May 2 cyclone. Four Mercy Corps aid workers have managed to get into Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- but not beyond the capital, Yangon or Rangoon.

Michael Bowers, Mercy Corps Northeast Asia regional program director, departed Portland on Monday for Chengdu, China. There, too, the agency plans to team with local organizations.

"We think we'll focus particularly on youth and vulnerable women who may have been affected by the earthquake," said Bowers, adding that Chinese officials were easing access. "The authorities in this disaster took a pause before they went down the road of Burma."

Medical Teams International has no relief workers in either country yet, but a doctor on its staff plans to depart Wednesday for Myanmar. The first choice of the organization, formerly called Northwest Medical Teams, would be to send one of its volunteer medical-worker teams to Myanmar.

"The numbers are just speaking so loudly in Myanmar," Agnew said.

Myanmar is hardly a big aircraft buyer, but China is a giant Boeing customer, which could work in the aid agencies' favor. Boeing forecasts that China will require 3,400 new airplanes worth about $340 billion over the next two decades.

But arranging on short notice to pack antibiotics, bandages and pain relievers into new airplanes is a complex project, requiring sign-offs by numerous managers even within Boeing. Chinese customs inspectors also must approve the unusual shipments.

A Boeing spokeswoman confirmed Monday that negotiations were progressing on the program. "It's something that we're considering," she said.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Oregonian