12 de noviembre, 2013 — La ONU solicitó hoy a la comunidad internacional de donantes que reúna 301 millones de dólares para llevar adelante un plan de acción de asistencia humanitaria en Filipinas por un periodo inicial de seis meses, tras el paso del devastador tifón Haiyan, conocido también como Yolanda.
En conferencia de prensa en Ginebra, el portavoz de la Oficina de la ONU para la Coordinación de Asuntos Humanitarios (OCHA) dijo que la cifra de afectados asciende a 11,3 millones de personas en nueve regiones de la zona central del archipiélago. Jens Laerke detalló, por otra parte, que 670.000 personas se encuentran desplazadas, según cifras del gobierno. “La comunidad humanitaria continua ampliando sus operaciones. Muchas áreas siguen inaccesibles y estamos llegando hasta esos lugares de a poco. Las prioridades son atención de salud, alimentos, medicinas, agua potable y refugios”, especificó el portavoz.
Laerke también señaló que los desafíos logísticos son uno de los principales obstáculos que afrontan las agencias en el terreno debido a la destrucción generalizada de infraestructura y a los escombros que bloquean los caminos.
Publicado por la ONU
UN launches $301 million appeal for typhoon-ravaged Philippine
12 November 2013 – The United Nations today appealed for nearly a third of a billion dollars to provide humanitarian assistance to typhoon hit regions of the Philippines where aid workers are labouring around the clock to get in urgently needed survival supplies, such as food, clean water, shelter and basic medicines.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos launched the $301 million flash appeal from Manila, the capital, where she is surveying the damage by Typhoon Haiyan which ripped through nine regions in south-east Asia over the weekend.
“The appeal of $301 million covers an initial period of six months,” said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesperson, Jens Laerke, in Geneva. “The humanitarian community continues to scale up its operations to provide lifesaving aid. Many areas do remain inaccessible, we are reaching into them little by little.”
More than 11 million people have been affected by what the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has called the strongest tropical cyclone so far this year and one of the most intense on record.
At least 670,000 people have been displaced, the majority of them in evacuation centres, the rest in host communities or makeshift shelters, according to OCHA.
“Water supply and power are cut. Much of the food stocks and other goods are destroyed. Many health facilities are not functioning and medical supplies [are] quickly being exhausted,” the UN humanitarian relief arm said in its latest action plan update.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the Government to set up field hospitals, as personnel and medical supplies are arriving in the country.
The health needs during the disaster are “significant”, the agency said, made worse by crowded living conditions and contaminated drinking water which can lead to the spread of infectious diseases.
“With another tropical storm expected to hit the Philippines later this week, the need for safe water and sanitation facilities is critical,” WHO said.
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