UNITED NATIONS SUPPORTS MOBILE HEALTH CLINICS FOR INDIAN QUAKE VICTIMS

NEW YORK, 7 February (UNFPA) -- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) announced today it is supporting 12 mobile health clinics in Gujarat State, India, and providing counselling support to women affected by the recent earthquake.  Following a rapid needs assessment, identifying health sector needs in the entire State, the UNFPA has dispatched emergency resources and additional personnel.

The mobile clinics are part of the UNFPA’s integrated population and development programmes in Gujarat State, which are now being refocused to help earthquake victims, especially pregnant women and newborn babies.  The clinics will provide reproductive health care, including HIV prevention, and help ensure safe deliveries.  The projects cover the five districts of Surendranagar, Kutch, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and Dahod.  Three of the five districts were severely affected by the earthquake, which has resulted in the collapse of the district health system in Kutch, and severe damage in the Surendranagar and Banskantha Districts.

The UNFPA works with governments, the United Nations system, and non-governmental organizations to provide quality reproductive health care and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, in conflict and disaster situations.  The Fund also provides educational materials and training for health care professionals to build local capacity and strengthen current development efforts.

The UNFPA is the world’s largest multilateral source of population assistance.  About a quarter of all population assistance from donor nations to developing countries is channelled through the UNFPA.  Since it began operations in 1969, it has provided about $5 billion in assistance to those countries.

For more information, contact Abubakar Dungus, Tel:  (212) 297-5031, Fax: (212) 557-6416, E-mail:  dungus@unfpa.org, or Jesper Jensen, Tel:  (212) 297-5277, E-mail:  Jensen@unfpa.org.  For more information on the UNFPA, see its Web site at www.unfpa.org.

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