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11
January 2005
UNHCR
steps up aid to tsunami victims as U.N. urges donor governments
to be generous
GENEVA,
Jan. 11 (UNHCR) – As the U.N. urged donor governments to donate
nearly $1 billion to tsunami disaster relief Tuesday, the U.N. refugee
agency stepped up its delivery of aid supplies to hard-hit areas
of Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
More
than 80 states met in Geneva to discuss the U.N. call for $977 million
for immediate relief over the next six months to survivors of the
Dec. 26 tsunami, which killed over 150,000 in many countries across
the Indian Ocean.
"It
is very important that we get money early on," UN emergency
relief coordinator Jan Egeland said before the donor conference.
"Hunger doesn't wait, disease doesn't wait. We need to be quicker."
As
part of the overall U.N. "flash appeal," UNHCR asked for
$75 million to provide shelter, non-food aid and logistical support
for hundreds of thousands of victims, in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and
Somalia. The refugee agency, taking an exceptional role in natural
disaster relief, rushed into action on the very day of the tsunami,
opening its warehouses in Sri Lanka to distribute vital aid supplies
to desperate people who had lost everything.
"It
is crucial that UNHCR get the $75 million we have requested to alleviate
the suffering of tsunami victims over the next six months, and that
we can be sure the aid will actually get to them," said Kamel
Morjane, Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, who attended
Tuesday's donor conference.
"We
also call on donor governments not to forget the millions of refugees
in other parts of the world who are depending on UNHCR for their
daily needs," he added. "UNHCR looks after 17 million
refugees and others of concern around the world, and yet we often
have difficulty raising the money we need to help them."
"We
should not forget that Darfur refugees in Eastern Chad, for example,
are just as desperate for shelter and clean drinking water as the
tsunami victims in Indonesia and Sri Lanka," Morjane said.
On
Tuesday morning, a UNHCR charter flight carrying 16.5 tonnes of
emergency relief supplies and 3.5 tonnes of telecommunications equipment
from Jakarta landed in Banda Aceh.
"We
used a private charter to fly up the supplies – including
plastic sheets, tents, blankets, jerry cans and kitchen sets –
as we could not get access to military flights," UNHCR spokesperson
Jennifer Pagonis told journalists in Geneva. The cost of the airlift
was US$23,000.
The
supplies are part of the more than 400 tonnes of emergency supplies
UNHCR airlifted to Jakarta from its central and regional stockpiles
in Copenhagen and Dubai early last week.
"As
soon as helicopter space is available the supplies will be ferried
to Meulaboh on the remote west coast of Aceh where we have set up
a joint base with other agencies, including World Food Programme,"
Pagonis said. Meulaboh was the fishing area that was worst hit by
the huge tidal waves.
In
addition, the three Swiss Super Puma helicopters UNHCR requested
from the Swiss government last week arrived in Medan in northern
Sumatra on Tuesday. Once they become operational in three to five
days, "this will significantly boost our operational capacity
and that of other agencies" Pagonis said. The helicopters will
be used to deliver supplies, move UNHCR staff and perform medical
evacuations.
"UNHCR
will be working with other humanitarian agencies in Aceh to ensure
the most effective and efficient use of this valuable logistical
support," Pagonis said.
In
Sri Lanka, 20,000 kitchen sets from New Delhi were scheduled to
arrive Tuesday and Wednesday, with a further 10,000 plastic sheets
from China also expected this week.
"We're
also planning to airlift 6,000 tents from UNHCR's regional supplies
in the Middle East to boost shelter capacity for people whose homes
were washed away by the tsunami," Pagonis said.
"The
plastic sheeting is crucial to providing temporary shelter in a
country where more than 115,000 houses have been either damaged
or destroyed. This figure is expected to rise as the damage assessment
in some areas awaits completion," Pagonis added.
UN
refugee agency media contacts in the tsunami-stricken region include:
SRI
LANKA
UNHCR Colombo
+94 11 268 3968
Ms. Auravasi Patel: + 94.11.777.377.112
Press Officer Mr. Lyndon Jeffel: +94.11.777.260.825
Press Officer Ms. Vivian Tan: Sat phone: +8821.651.128.524
INDONESIA
UNHCR Jakarta / Aceh
Anita Restu / Robert Ashe / Stephane Jaquemet +62.21.391.2888 /
+62.21.391.2929
Fernando Del Mundo, mobile: +41.79.249.3461 or Mans Nyberg, mobile:
+46.76.888.2561
EAST
/ HORN OF AFRICA
UNHCR (Nairobi/regional) - Kitty McKinsey +254.20.422.2750 or +254.
722.592.963 or Emmanuel Nyabera +254.20.423.2120 or +254.733.995.975.
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