Local branch of the British Red Cross Director Richard Aspin has advised of Montserrat’s planned assistance to hurricane Mathew ravaged Haiti. Red Cross officials stated that bank accounts have been opened at the Royal Bank of Canada and the St. Patrick’s Cooperative Credit Union where monetary donations may be made for Haitian relief.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 11, CMC –United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has launched a near US$120 million appeal to fund United Nations aid activities in Haiti that was battered by Hurricane Matthew last week.
The UN said that the rising death toll, coupled with the start of the rainy season, has prompted the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to sound the alarm on the threat of waterborne diseases to children living in the worst-affected areas.
“Hundreds have died. At least 1.4 million people need assistance at this time. Some towns and villages have been almost wiped off the map. Crops and food reserves have been destroyed. At least 300 schools have been damaged,” Ban told reporters here, expressing his deepest condolences and sympathies to those affected by the hurricane.
He said the numbers of those impacted and the needs are growing, as more affected areas are reached.
Moreover, the UN said tensions are already mounting as people await help.
“A massive response is required,” he said, adding that UN teams are working with local officials to assess needs.
“Today in Geneva, we launched a US$120 million flash appeal covering the UN system’s needs for the next three months,” added the Secretary-General, recalling that, last Friday, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated five million US dollars in emergency funds to kick-start assistance in the wake of the deadly storm.
The so-called “Flash Appeal” launched by the UN on behalf of the international humanitarian community, requests US$119,850 to respond to “the most urgent needs” of people impacted by the storm, which made landfall in Haiti on October 4 and went on to leave a swath of devastation throughout the Caribbean and the South-eastern United States.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the appeal targets vulnerable groups in identified priority sectors, and it takes into account the national-level capacities and those of humanitarian partners on the ground.
Over the next week, the UN said partners will develop individual projects in support of sector activities and financial requirements identified in this appeal, adapting the response to the most up-to-date assessment results.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien stressed that funding of the appeal is urgently needed to enable humanitarian actors to respond to people most in need before the situation further deteriorates, including by addressing the risks posed by cholera and other deadly waterborne diseases.
“Families that were fortunate to survive the hurricane now find themselves in a struggle to survive, with thousands of homes and livelihoods washed away by the storm,” he said, recalling that the country was already facing health challenges, including an increase in cases of cholera as well as severe food insecurity, before the hurricane hit.
General Assembly President Peter Thomson expressed his deep concern for the people of Haiti and called upon member states to respond to the appeal to assist the Caribbean nation.
He said that, aside from the human loss and the material damage provoked by the storm, Haiti is facing an increase in the number of cholera cases, as well as severe food insecurity and malnutrition.
Ban said he is developing a new approach to the cholera situation, which will encompass support for people affected by the disease and for efforts to build sound water, sanitation and health systems in order to help eliminate cholera in Haiti.
“The United Nations is mobilizing across all fronts to support the people, the government and local groups such as the Red Cross in getting recovery under way as quickly as possible. I call on the international community to show solidarity and generosity – and to work together effectively in responding to this emergency,” said the UN Secretary-General.
Meanwhile, UNICEF has warned that overflowing rivers, stagnant waters, and animal and human corpses are perfect breeding grounds for waterborne diseases.
“Every day that goes by increases the threat of cholera. We are in a race against time to get to these children before diseases do,” said Marc Vincent, UNICEF Representative for Haiti.
Even before the hurricane in Haiti, UNICEF noted that only one in three people had access to proper latrines and less than three in five to safe water. In rural areas, these rates go down to one in four for sanitation and one in two for water. Diarrhoea is one of the main killers of children under-five in the country.
“Haiti has one of the highest incidence rates of cholera in the world,” underscored Vincent. “Almost 10,000 people have died from the disease since 2010 and more than 27,000 suspected cases have been reported so far this year, an estimated one in three of them children.”
Since the 2010 outbreak, the UN said UNICEF in partnership with the Haitian government and various partners, has been fighting waterborne diseases – including cholera – by improving access to water, sanitation and health services for Haitian children and their families, while promoting rapid response to cholera cases.
