United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he plans to send a senior official to urge Burma's military leaders to open up to foreign aid.
The UN intends to send a top official to Burma to persuade the military rulers to accept foreign assistance, says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Mr Ban said he wanted UN aid chief John Holmes to accompany a food aid delivery to the cyclone-hit nation.
He is also proposing a summit of global leaders to discuss aid, as fears grow for the victims of Cyclone Nargis.
He also proposed a conference of nations prepared to pledge assistance.
UN figures now suggest as many as 2.5 million people have been severely affected by the cyclone. The official death toll stands at almost 38,500.
UN figures now suggest that as many as 2.5 million people have been severely affected by Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma 12 days ago.
A second cyclone that was forming off Burma's coastline subsided overnight.
The latest Burmese official figures put the number of dead at almost 38,500, with 27,838 more missing, but the Red Cross warned as many as 128,000 could be dead.
Human Rights Watch said the result was an "insult to the people of Burma" as there was no way such a majority could have been gained fairly.
They say far more boats and trucks are needed to get the supplies to the communities that need them most - and far more expert personnel.
The decision to hold a ballot while tens of thousands of people were in dire need of assistance provoked a global outcry against the junta.
But fears of a second storm eased as forecasters said a tropical depression off Burma's coast had weakened and was unlikely to brew into a cyclone.
The vote was postponed until 24 May in the regions worst-affected by the cyclone.
Meanwhile state media has announced that a new military-backed constitution was overwhelmingly approved in a referendum on 10 May.
The proposed constitution entrenches the power of the military, and many observers labelled the referendum a stunt to give a veneer of legitimacy to the junta's reforms.
'Resistance mindset'
The UN chief convened talks with donors and the Association of South East Asian Nations in New York on Wednesday.
Mr Ban said he "regretted" the UN had spent more time arranging rather than delivering help.
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Undercover reporter says aid is still in short supply in Burma
Undercover reporter says aid is still in short supply in Burma
"Even though the [Burmese] government has shown some sense of flexibility, at this time it's far, far too short," he said.
In an apparent concession to international pressure, the generals say they will allow 160 foreign aid workers into the country, as well as an emergency relief team from the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).
Foreign experts are still being denied access to the worst-hit Irrawaddy Delta region.
But it was unclear whether the workers - from countries including Thailand, China, India, Bangladesh - would be allowed out of Rangoon into the stricken delta region, where help is most urgently needed.
Mr Holmes, the UN's head of humanitarian assistance, said that although more than 100 international UN aid workers were now in Burma, they were not being allowed beyond Rangoon.
"Even though the Myanmar [Burma] government has shown some sense of flexibility, at this time it's far, far too short," Mr Ban said.
In an apparent concession, the Burmese authorities have invited in 160 aid workers from neighbouring Bangladesh, China, India and Thailand.
He told reporters that John Holmes, the UN's top humanitarian official, would accompany the next aid flight into Burma and attempt to negotiate with the junta.
But it is not clear whether they will be permitted to enter the worst-affected regions - and experts say they are a fraction of the number needed.
Mr Ban said he "regretted" the UN had spent more time arranging rather than delivering help.
On Wednesday Thai leader Samak Sundaravej flew to Rangoon for talks with Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein, but said the junta was adamant it needed no outside help.
Aid agencies continue to criticise the military regime - accusing the generals of stalling on issuing visas for relief experts, ineptly distributing the supplies they are allowing into the country and blocking access to the worst-affect regions.
"They insisted they can take care of their people and their country. They can manage by themselves," he said.
A slow trickle of aid is now getting to survivors but the agencies say it is nowhere near enough.
In Washington, Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said his organisation was trying to build a "coalition of mercy" to help fellow member Burma.
They say far more boats and trucks are needed to get the supplies to the communities that need them most - and far more expert personnel.
"We are trying to work around a very, very stiff resistance mentality and mindset that have been there for a long, long time," he told a forum.
The latest Burmese official figures put the number of dead at almost 38,500, with 27,838 more missing, but the Red Cross warned as many as 128,000 could be dead.
Schools hit
Aid agencies have warned repeatedly that failure to help those without food, water and shelter could lead to a second - perhaps larger - wave of deaths.
A BBC correspondent in Burma said one devastated village - with one in four of its 400 homes left standing - had received just one bag of rice from the government.
Causeways running above the flooded paddy fields of the south were lined by families - often in makeshift shelters - huddling in the rain, our reporter said.
There are also more long-term considerations. About 85% of schools in the region have been severely damaged or destroyed, Unicef said, and unknown numbers of teachers had been killed or missing.
Help is needed to build temporary schools so that some semblance of normality can be returned to children's lives, the agency said.
