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UNICEF mounts Timor relief operations
Thursday, 16 September 1999: The grave situation in East and West Timor has put hundreds of thousands of children and women in immediate peril, UNICEF said today. As many as 500,000 people have been displaced from their homes and are now facing severe nutritional and health risks. Some 75,000 are estimated to be under the age of five.

UNICEF is presently responding to the refugee crisis in West Timor, and is now preparing for a significantly expanded presence there, supported by a staging centre in Darwin, Australia. UNICEF is also assembling a recovery plan for East Timor, to be implemented as soon as staff are able to return. The children's agency is coordinating its work with other involved United Nations partners.

"The refugee crisis has exacerbated what had already been poor health and sanitation conditions for the people of Timor," UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said. "In addition to tremendous displacements, there have been several reported massacres, including severe violence to women and children. Thousands hiding in the hills of East Timor are desperate for food and shelter."

Water and sanitation conditions have suffered major deterioration, Ms. Bellamy noted, and massive health risks for children and women are developing in overcrowded West Timor camps. Diarrhoea and malaria pose particular dangers. Also family separation, disruption of education, and the trauma of witnessing atrocities are expected to have long-term impact, especially on children.

UNICEF has already helped to address initial emergency needs in the West Timor camps. Based on an assessment carried out by UNICEF staff working in Kupang and Atambua (both in West Timor), UNICEF is:
  • Distributing 12.5 tonnes of nutritional supplements to children in the W. Timor camps (capable of serving 25,000 children for 7-10 days)
  • Providing 10,000 thousand blankets for UN airdrops over E. Timor Providing drugs and medical supplies to help meet the needs of women and children
  • Providing 10,000 thousand blankets for UN airdrops over E. Timor
  • Providing drugs and medical supplies to help meet the needs of women and children
UNICEF is preparing to deliver:
  • water purification tablets
  • 20,000 jerry cans and water jugs
  • 500 tents for temporary medical and educational centres
  • 5,000 mosquito nets, 40,000 sarongs, and sleeping mats
  • education supplies to equip dozens of temporary schools
  • 200 sets of play items for "child-friendly spaces"
UNICEF is also planning a longer-term recovery program that will address the trauma being experienced by children as a result of the violence and other difficult experiences that they have been exposed to.

To work effectively in this complex situation, UNICEF will be required to strengthen its response capacity in three locations: W. Timor, where the immediate needs of those in the camps are overwhelming; Darwin, Australia, where it will participate in the UN logistics hub for incoming relief supplies; and in East Timor, where UNICEF is preparing a team to re-establish its operations as quickly as circumstances permit.

UNICEF has 10 staff already on the ground in West Timor, and additional officers with specialised knowledge will be arriving over the next few days.

The total cost of the UNICEF emergency relief program for East and West Timor is now estimated at US $5 million, covering activities in water & sanitation, health, nutrition, education and psychosocial services. The entire UNICEF relief programme is being planned and carried out in co-ordination with OCHA and the UN humanitarian inter-agency mission.

UNICEF has been operating in both East and West Timor for 18 years. The agency was forced to evacuate E. Timor on 5 September. The UNICEF warehouse in Dili was sacked last week and 7.5 tons of food and other supplies were burned.

Please email media@unicef.org with comments or requests for more information, quoting CF/DOC/PR/1999/39.


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