UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES HUMANITARIAN APPEALS FOR STORM-RAVAGED HAITI, GRENADA

NEW YORK, 1 October (OCHA) -- The United Nations is seeking a total of $59 million to help some 400,000 people affected by a series of storms that have ravaged impoverished Haiti and Grenada in recent weeks.  United Nations agencies have been rushing relief supplies such as food, water and shelter materials to people in need, and are laying out a plan for addressing needs for the next six months in these two appeals.

“We are asking donors to respond rapidly and generously to these appeals to help get the people of Haiti and Grenada back on their feet”, said Jan Egeland, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.  “These programs will help meet urgent needs like shelter, food and clean water, and also for longer term reconstruction of schools and infrastructure as well as laying foundations for economic recovery.”

Over the past month in Haiti, more than 1,500 people were killed, and some 300,000 people affected when floods caused by hurricane Ivan and tropical storm Jeanne submerged much of Haiti’s north, including more than 80 per cent of the city of Gonaïves, underwater.  In addition to immediate needs for food and shelter, there remain significant needs for international support for the rehabilitation of hospitals and schools that have been badly damaged or destroyed.  Severe environmental degradation has led to an increased frequency of landslides and floods.  Already one of the world’s poorest countries, Haiti’s vulnerabilities have been worsened by political instability.

The United Nations Appeal for Haiti seeks some $32 million for programmes to meet urgent needs for food, health/water and sanitation, agriculture, education, shelter and infrastructure, and coordination of humanitarian assistance.

In Grenada, the entire population of 100,000 was affected by the storms.  An estimated 90 per cent of all houses were damaged or destroyed, and virtually all of this season’s crops were wiped out when hurricane Ivan battered the three-island nation with winds of 220 km/hour.  The agricultural, fishing and tourism sectors of Grenada’s economy were all hit hard and could suffer the effects of this disaster for years.

The United Nations Appeal for Grenada seeks approximately $27 million for programs to meet urgent needs for shelter, medicines and equipment to treat or stop the spread of communicable diseases, and to put in place the foundations for economic recovery.  Projects to facilitate recovery involve the creation of quick impact projects (QIP) at the community level, to generate employment and rebuild capacities.

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

* *** *