"We must give urgent thought to Myanmar's long-term reconstruction, it may already be too late for the country's farmers to plant for the next harvest," he said.
 
While in Myanmar, Mr. Ban's will visit the areas that have been most affected by Cyclone Nargis, and also meet with senior government officials. 
 
Mr. Ban's objective is to reinforce the ongoing aid operation to see how the international relief and rehabilitation effort can be scaled up, and to work with Myanmar authorities to significantly increase the amount of aid flowing through Yangon to the Irrawaddy delta. 
 
Mr. Ban also released a joint statement with the Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announcing the international high-level pledging conference. 
 
The statement said the conference will seek international support and financial assistance "to meet the most urgent challenges, as well as the longer-term recovery efforts." Mr. Ban and the Chair of ASEAN called on the international community to "rise to the occasion and translate their solidarity and sympathy into concrete commitments to help the people of Myanmar emerge from the tragedy and rebuild their lives."
 

Meanwhile, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, the UN's top relief official, has visited three cyclone-affected areas, including the town of Labutta in the delta. The visits occurred with the full cooperation from the Myanmar authorities.
 
Holmes also met with the UN humanitarian country team and with the Myanmar Red Cross and will hold talks with government officials.
 
UN agencies on the ground 
 
The UN World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Program (WFP) and other UN agencies are making progress in reaching victims of the cyclone in Myanmar despite operational limitations.
 
Up to 2.4 million people have been affected by the disaster and WHO reported that the official toll of dead and missing now exceeds 132,000, with more than 19,000 injured.
 
WHO and its partners have procured more than 350 tons of medical supplies and equipment for the cyclone-affected area. These include three million water purification sachets, 90,000 water containers, more than 50,000 insecticide treated mosquito nets, shelter equipment and emergency health kits.
 
Using air and water transportation to distribute aid, WFP reported it dispatched enough food to feed more than 250,000 people with a first ration of rice - enough to last for two weeks - as well as high-energy biscuits and beans. Most supplies were purchased by the agency inside Myanmar.
 
WFP spokesperson Marcus Prior said that this was still insufficient and too slow. He said that aid workers were coming across settlements that have received little if any assistance so far.
 
The UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has deployed 100 satellite terminals to facilitate in-country coordination of the humanitarian effort.
 
Amanda Pitt, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the current estimate for people who had been displaced was around 150,000. Pitt said they are staying in 120 official or spontaneous settlements.