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UNICEF needs RM 410 million to help children in Haiti

PRESS RELEASE
2010 Haiti Earthquake Children’s Appeal
UNICEF appeals to all in Malaysia to support its Haiti humanitarian operations for the next six months

Wouded people lie in a make shift shelter in the parking lot of the general hospital after an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale rocked Port au Prince Haiti on 12 January.

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 January 2010 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a “2010 Haiti Earthquake Children’s Appeal” in Malaysia to support its global appeal for RM 410 million (US$ 120 million). Funds raised will be used to help children and families who survived the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti on 12 January.

UNICEF’s request is part of a United Nations appeal for RM 1.9 billion (US$ 562 million), launched last Friday, to facilitate humanitarian operations for the next six months in one of the poorest countries on earth.

Haiti ranks 148 out of 179 countries on UNDP’s Human Development Index. It has a long history of being struck by one natural disaster after another, and is struggling to recover from years of violence, insecurity and instability.

Given that nearly 50 per cent of Haiti's 10 million population is under the age of 18, UNICEF has a particularly critical role to play. Focus in the days and weeks ahead are to prevent a second wave of disaster by ensuring against any outbreak of diarrheal infections and life threatening diseases. In this case, water saves lives.

Besides supplies that were already in the country, UNICEF is organising aid from its pre-positioned regional stocks in Panama. Additional shipments are being dispatched from the agency's central warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark. Over the weekend, a plane loaded with UNICEF emergency relief supplies arrived in Port-au-Prince carrying urgently needed water and sanitation supplies. Experts in water and sanitation were also on the flight. An earlier UNICEF shipment included water tanks, water purification tablets and rehydration salts.

In addition, UNICEF and its partners are intensifying emergency operations to protect the safety of children at risk. One critical concern involves children who have become separated from their families and may find themselves without shelter, food, water or other basic necessities and at risk of violence and exploitation.

Those who wish to make donations to the Appeal in Ringgit Malaysia can do so through:

§ Credit card via UNICEF’s secure online donation site

§ Crossed cheque

§ Bank transfers (Maybank Account No. 514329427587)

For more information, please call UNICEF at (6.03) 2095 9154.

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Haiti Earthquake 2010
On 12 January 2010, a 7.3 earthquake - the most powerful to hit Haiti in a 100 years - struck shortly before 5 p.m. and was centered about 15 kilometers southwest of Port-au-Prince. The epicenter was in Carrefour and the affected area is the West Province. The quake was quickly followed by several strong aftershocks from 5.9 to 5.0 magnitude. Initial assessments suggest that at least one in 3 people in Haiti are affected by the disaster.

§ Haiti and her people

§ About the earthquake

For more information, please contact:

Indra Kumari Nadchatram
UNICEF Media - Communications, Malaysia
Tel +6012 292 6872, E-mail: inadchatram@unicef.org

Anne Selvarani Albert
UNICEF Media - Fundraising, Malaysia
Tel +6016 233 0231, E-mail: asalbert@unicef.org

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Video: Haiti Earthquake