UN AIDS JAMAICA, GRENADA IN AFTERMATH OF HURRICANES

NEW YORK, 20 September (OCHA) -- In Grenada and Jamaica, United Nations agencies are rushing to meet emergency needs created by hurricanes that devastated the Caribbean last week.

In Jamaica, United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) teams have brought together international relief agencies and national authorities to ensure that the response is well-coordinated.  Using this approach, the UNDAC teams have determined that more than 50,000 people are in urgent need of water and sanitation services to prevent water-borne diseases from spreading.  Further, more than 17,000 people need emergency food assistance, and the need for rehabilitation of shelter is widespread.

Government and international humanitarian agencies are delivering assistance despite obstacles including, for example, fuel shortages that hamper the delivery of food and medicine.  In spite of these problems, the Government of Jamaica and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) plan on delivering relief supplies to hard-hit areas today and tomorrow, with psycho-social support for some 2,500 children being provided along with the material aid.  The Jamaican Red Cross will distribute food packages, blankets and tarpaulins to heavily affected populations in Victoria, Portland Cottage and Cave Valley.  The non-governmental organization OXFAM is rehabilitating enough medical clinics to cover the immediate health needs of some 12,000 people and is working to restore water supplies to another 7,000 people by early next week.

In Grenada, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) has provided generators for health facilities, drugs and basic medical supplies, and laboratory equipment.  The UNICEF has started a psycho-social support program for children and is assisting local authorities in making sure that the school year can start as soon as possible.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHANY, 917 367 5126, mobile:  917 892 1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, 41 22 917 2653, mobile:  41(0) 79 473 4570.

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