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Bangladesh: CERF October Newsletter 2007

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Bangladesh, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Haiti, Mali, Nicaragua

Pledges and contributions

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is pleased to acknowledge the receipt of six new contributions totaling $29,317,432.53 (as of 30 September). The contributions were made by Brazil ($30,000), Italy ($1,290,100), Luxembourg ($5,610,800), Monaco ($35,000), Spain ($20,692,484) and Switzerland ($1,659,048.53). Furthermore, Mexico pledged $50,000 for 2007. OCHA encourages all Member States to turn their pledges into contributions as soon as possible.

Country highlights

In September 2007, the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) approved $16.6 million in grants from the CERF's window for rapid response. Details on each allocation can be found below, or on the CERF website at http://cerf.un.org.

BANGLADESH - This year, monsoon rains have led to flooding in 39 of the country's 64 districts. About 10 million people have been affected, including 400,000 internally displaced individuals, while hundreds have died. The CERF contributed $6 million to help mitigate the threat to health due to the floods.

For three months, the World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing a 30 kilogramme monthly ration of emergency food to more than 300,000 households. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) are supporting 50,000 children (aged 6 to 35 months) and 25,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women with high-energy biscuits; 20 million children (aged 12 to 59 months) with vitamin A capsules; and 15 million children (aged 24-59 months) with vermicidal tablets.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking to reduce the outbreak of water-, food- and vector-borne communicable diseases by providing access to essential health services to nearly 10 million people. With almost one million houses either destroyed or severely damaged, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and its partners are assisting 10,500 vulnerable families with essential non-food items enabling them to withstand climatic conditions during the remainder of the monsoon season and in the immediate aftermath, and an additional 18,000 households with emergency shelter assistance.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is helping protect cattle from foot-and-mouth disease. In addition, the project is seeking to supply good quality dairy products and meat to vulnerable households, particularly for women and children.

HAITI - Heavy rains, combined with the passage of Hurricane Dean, led to massive flooding and a number of casualties. Livestock, crops, rural and urban housing, roads, river and canal embankments, and other infrastructure suffered extensive damage, as vast areas of land were submerged. To support life-saving activities, the CERF has allocated almost $600,000 to Haiti.

With $207,580, the FAO is assisting vulnerable farmers and fishermen. Some 8,000 families are receiving 40 metric tonnes of string beans, 2,500 farmers 25,000 fruit and other trees and 200 fishermen supplies including fish traps and fishing nets. In addition, the FAO is helping repair the irrigation system in the area of Pérédeau. A second FAO project (worth $129,577) is supporting 600 farmers in Fonds Parisien, who became victims of the floods in July by giving them maize, sorghum, hens and goats.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is using a $254,664 grant to improve 13 temporary shelter sites, and providing water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. This project is helping 6,500 individuals in the communities of Toman, Les Cayes, Jérémie and Jacmel.

DPR KOREA - An estimated 960,000 Koreans have been affected by widespread flooding, land- and mudslides since 14 August 2007. More than 450 people died and 170,000 became homeless across nine provinces, including the capital

Pyongyang. With thousands of individuals living in temporary shelter, ensuring potable water supplies and preventing waterborne diseases are key priorities. Joint assessments highlighted major damage to some 240,000 homes and key infrastructure. Basic medical services are impaired, while a significant loss of crops is likely to increase food insecurity. The CERF has allocated $3 million to the flood response.

With a grant of $800,000, the WFP is distributing a basic mixed-food basket to 215,000 people in 37 counties, while at the same time maintaining its regular programme activities. The WHO response, financed with $800,000, focuses on monitoring health risks and addresses critical threats. The UN agency is strengthening secondary levels of medical care in the affected areas and providing essential medicines and emergency medical supplies to the hospitals in need.

UNICEF is working with the Ministry of Public Health and other organizations to strengthen both diarrhoea treatment and prevention among half a million children, using $500,000 from the CERF. A grant of $300,000 is enabling UNFPA to provide essential midwifery and obstetric kits. With $600,000, the FAO is seeking to quickly restore crop production and food availability among the population of 200 co-op farms, representing one million beneficiaries, including 700,000 women and children.

MALI - Torrential rain between July and September 2007 led to the death of nine Malians and made 42,000 homeless. More than 4,800 houses collapsed and almost 3,800 hectares of cropped farmland were flooded. The CERF has allocated $1 million to the WFP and UNICEF to assist an estimated 20,000 vulnerable individuals for three months.

In coordination with the Civil Protection Administration and WFP, local distribution centres are providing supplementary food rations to adults and children. UNICEF is supplying tents, mosquito nets, soap, bleach, household water containers and water purification tablets. It is also rehabilitating broken or collapsed water sources to prevent epidemics of cholera and diarrhoea. The projects are concentrated in the peri-urban areas of Bandiagara, Kayes and Ségou.

NICARAGUA - Hurricane Felix hit the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua on 4 September, affecting areas in the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN). Preliminary estimates placed the number of disaster victims at 162,373, with 67 confirmed casualties and 110 individuals missing. The CERF has allocated grants totaling $5 million to assist Nicaraguans.

A CERF grant of $1,791,180 is allowing UNDP to provide shelter assistance for 42,000 people in the most affected areas. This included tools to remove rubble and building materials, as well as kits (containing folding beds, cooking sets, latrines). With a grant of $2,169,318, WFP is undertaking a general food distribution for

80,000 individuals. It is also providing supplemental feeding for 35,000 beneficiaries, paying special attention to children under five years of age, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

Using a $517,452 CERF grant, WHO is ensuring health care and disease prevention focusing on maternal and child health. UNICEF's grants totaling $497,550 are targeting health services and child nutrition as well as water, sanitation and hygiene needs. Together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), UNICEF is supporting the government's mobile medical brigades. To activate a nutritional strategy that will mitigate the impact of hurricane Felix, UNICEF is purchasing food, nutritional kits and vitamin A supplements, while it is training health personnel and community persons to implement an education strategy. In addition, UNICEF is supplying safe water to 14,400 people and rehabilitating 200 latrines in shelters and schools.

YEMEN - The population in Sa'ada has been affected by an insurgency that started three years ago, until a still fragile ceasefire came into force in June 2007. A joint needs assessment mission identified food as the most pressing concern, while there are also needs for shelter, education and health care. The CERF has allocated $1 million to projects that target more than one million beneficiaries.

The WHO is distributing emergency medical kits, particularly to internally displaced persons. In addition, it is establishing an early warning system for diseases and providing vaccination services to all vulnerable children and women. UNICEF is seeking to make sure that the affected population has access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities. It is also planning to reduce acute severe and moderate malnutrition for children under five years of age and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Rudolph Muller (CERF Secretarist):  mullerr@un.org);
Ms. Shoko Arakaki (Donor and External Relation Section): arakaki@un.org


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