UN Launches $120 Million Funding Appeal for Haiti

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the launch of a near $120 million appeal to fund United Nations aid activities in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti.

In Haiti 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, Mr. Ban told reporters at UN Headquarters today, express 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, 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.

Humanitarian appeal

“Today in Geneva, we launched a $120 million flash appeal covering the UN system’s needs for the next three months,” the Secretary-General announced, recalling that this past Friday, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated $5 million in emergency funds to kick-start assistance in the wake of the deadly storm, following the release earlier in the week of a loan of $8 million dollars to the UNICEF to scale up response to the worsening cholera epidemic in Haiti.

The so-called Flash Appeal, launched by the UN on behalf of the international humanitarian community, requests $119,850 to respond to “the most urgent needs” of people impacted by the storm, which made landfall in Haiti on 4 October 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, 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.

In a separate statement today, 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.

Also issuing a statement, 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.

Source: UN

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Taxonomy

• Humanitarian
• Public Health
• Water Access
• Food Aid
• Public Health
• Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH)
• Disaster Management