UN WARNS OF FAMINE IN TAJIKISTAN: $76 MILLION NEEDED TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO 1.2 MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DROUGHT

Press Release
IHA/718

UN WARNS OF FAMINE IN TAJIKISTAN: $76 MILLION NEEDED TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO 1.2 MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DROUGHT

DUSHANBE, 18 September (OCHA) -- The United Nations yesterday appealed for an additional $76.6 million to address the most urgent needs of the drought- affected population of Tajikistan. Three million people, nearly half of the population of the country, are facing the consequences of the worst drought in three quarters of a century.

Ross Mountain, Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations, said to journalists from various major international media gathered in Dushanbe that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in this land-locked country of 6 million in Central Asia.

"The humanitarian situation in Tajikistan epitomizes the consequences of slow moving emergencies such as droughts. Next to Afghanistan, Tajikistan is the hardest hit country in the region", Mr. Mountain remarked, adding that these were two among a dozen or so countries affected by the drought. He urged the international community to act immediately to avert a major catastrophe and deaths from famine, not to mention further instability in the region.

Also present at the launch of the appeal was the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Tajikistan, Matthew Kahane. He warned that while we have not yet started to see the typical signs, a famine could well develop in the next two to three months if food, seeds, medicines and clean water are not delivered promptly. Mr. Kahane gave an alarming picture, noting that 1.2 million people are in dire need of food assistance, only 10 to 15 per cent of the rural population has continuous access to safe drinking water, and water-borne diseases such as malaria and typhoid are on the rise.

The United Nations launched a consolidated appeal valued at $35 million in November 1999 to address humanitarian needs in 2000. Donor response has been extremely poor with just $4.2 million pledged since it was launched. Speaking to journalists on a media mission organized by the United Nations to bring attention to the plight of Tajikistan, Mr. Mountain stressed that the need for funding has become more critical now than ever before, and that there would be grave humanitarian consequences if the United Nations is not given the means with which to respond, now.

For further information, please contact the United Nations, Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs/Field Coordination Unit (OCHA/FCU) Aini 39, Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Tel/fax: (992)372 21-03-89. Tel: 21 78 27. Saturday phone: 873 76124 1910. e-mail: ocha.tj@undp.org

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