UNITED STATES ACCEPTS UNITED NATIONS OFFER OF HELP IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE KATRINA

UNITED STATES ACCEPTS UNITED NATIONS OFFER OF HELP

IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE KATRINA

The following statement was issued on 4 September by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Government of the United States has accepted the United Nations offer of help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

A small UN coordination team is in Washington now consulting with Government officials on how best the UN can complement the United States’ own emergency efforts.

The UN’s coordination team in Washington will be based at the newly established USAID Hurricane Katrina Operations Center, where offers of international assistance are being coordinated.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the High Commissioner for Refugees are ready to provide emergency staff and a wide variety of relief supplies as and when necessary.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record