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UNICEF steps up relief effort in Orissa |
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| Wednesday, 17 November 1999: The United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) has stepped up its relief activities in the Indian state of Orissa,
releasing $3 million from its Emergency Fund to finance programmes in health,
education, nutrition, water & sanitation, and child protection services. The $3 million release of emergency funds to finance the UNICEF response in Orissa is the largest infusion of emergency financing to a country programme since the Kosovo crisis in March of this year. It reflects UNICEF's commitment to maintain its country-wide programmes in co-operation with the Government of India while also helping to address disaster-related needs in Orissa. UNICEF's emergency assistance is being allocated in conjunction with the spending priorities identified by the Government of India and the State of Orissa and is closely co-ordinated with the UN disaster management team operating in the country. In the 20 days since the super-cyclone hit on 29 October and affected over 12 million people -- equal to the combined populations of Switzerland and Norway -- UNICEF India has mobilized 450 tonnes of food, medicines and emergency supplies worth more than $1.25 million. Most of these supplies have already reached the state. They include:
Children in distress In addition to providing needed relief supplies in coordination with the Government of India, UNICEF has organized a number of necessary services. For instance, UNICEF estimates that more than 3.3 million children have been affected by the storms, and an undetermined number have been separated from their families, orphaned or seriously injured. A major component of UNICEF activities over the next several months will address the special needs of these children, including possible family reunification and assisting the state government and NGOs to find either a new family or alternative community arrangements for orphaned children. In some of the affected districts of Orissa, UNICEF has mounted a door-to-door campaign in conjunction with other agencies in which volunteers have been walking from village to village in an attempt to identify lost, injured or orphaned children. This process is the first step in helping to assure that new homes are found and that the vital needs of all children are being met. Leadership in responding Together with the World Food Programme, UNICEF has been a leading partner in the joint UN response to emergency needs from day one, rushing in relief material at the request of the Orissa government. As the only United Nations organization with a field office in Bhubaneshwar (the state capital), the UNICEF office has become a "UN House" hosting staff from other agencies and supporting the UN-wide collaboration over the coming weeks and months. The UNICEF state representative in Bhubaneshwar is conducting daily coordination meetings with high-level participants from state and local government and international and national relief agencies (including Caritas, MSF, EFICOR, CRS, CARE, Action Aid, Plan International, Save the Children, Lutheran World Services, IFRC, and Oxfam). This coordination has helped speed relief efforts. For example, in the area of providing safe drinking water, UNICEF has led the way in flushing out and cleaning well pumps. Of the 4,000 wells and bore well-pumps rendered unworkable in the Cuttack district (one of the 15 affected), 3,600 have already been serviced using the compressors and materials rushed in by UNICEF. Medium and long-term assistance UNICEF has laid out immediate, medium and long-term interventions based on the "Five-R Strategy" -- rescue, relief, restoration, rehabilitation, and reconstruction -- formulated by the chief minister of Orissa. Throughout the different phases, UNICEF will remain focussed on supporting local institutions -- schools, health centers, NGOs and others -- that address the special needs of children and women. It will do this in coordination with the State of Orissa and other stakeholders. In addition to local capacity-building initiatives, UNICEF will offer programs in the areas of health, education, nutrition, water & sanitation, early childhood care, and special protection of orphaned and injured youngsters. UNICEF will continue accelerating its program in Orissa to help meet the crisis, and expects to commit several million dollars. Donors who have contributed to the UNICEF emergency program so far include the governments of the Netherlands, Australia and France, as well as the German and Spanish National Committees for UNICEF. |
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| Please email media@unicef.org with comments or requests for more information, quoting CF/DOC/PR/1999/53 |
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