UNITED NATIONS APPEALS FOR $3 MILLION TO ASSIST CLIMATE DISASTER VICTIMS IN MONGOLIA

Press Release
IHA/701

UNITED NATIONS APPEALS FOR $3 MILLION TO ASSIST CLIMATE DISASTER VICTIMS IN MONGOLIA

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 4 April (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) -- The United Nations today launched an “Inter-Agency Appeal for Mongolia ‘Dzud 2000’ -- An Evolving Disaster”, which addressed the ongoing climate disaster in Mongolia.

This “multiple dzud” is the cumulative result of last summer’s drought, a winter which began in September and has been the coldest for 30 years, repetitive heavy snowstorms and years of pastoral degradation. Over 1.8 million head of livestock, including sheep, goats, cattle, horses and camels, have perished this winter, and half a million (20 per cent) of the country’s population is directly concerned. Nomadic herdsmen make up the majority of the population of Mongolia, and animal husbandry is the staple source of economy. Mongolia’s traditional rural way of life is at stake, and repercussions of the animal losses are being felt in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, where meat prices are now soaring.

The United Nations appeal for $2,981,000, issued in response to the Government of Mongolia’s appeal for international assistance on 11 February, focuses on replacement of livestock, on the provision of food, a safe water supply and irrigation for pasture land, and on rehabilitation of the health and education sectors. Coordination and monitoring costs are also covered by this Inter-Agency Appeal.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other leading non-governmental organizations are lending parallel support to Mongolian disaster victims.

For further information, please contact: Donato Kiniger-Passigli, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Geneva (tel: 917 2653); Phyllis Lee or Rosa Malango, OCHA, New York (tel: 963-4832/2380). Please also view OCHA’s Web site at http://www.reliefweb.int, as well as the United Nations Disaster Management Team Ulaanbaatar Web site at .

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