FOOD SHORTAGES IN GUATEMALA THREATEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, WARNS UN AGENCY

Urgent funding is needed to help combat an acute hunger crisis that is ravaging much of Guatemala, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

The agency cautioned that money only exists to provide food aid to some tens of thousands of families in Guatemala until the end of September, including the provision of a fortified food to 100,000 children under the age of three and 50,000 pregnant-lactating women.

More than 90 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition were admitted to the national hospital of Jalapa in August – three times higher than the same month last year – and out of the 117 children rushed to the hospital between January and July, 17 have died, WFP noted in a situation report issued last week.

In its immediate response to the food crisis in Guatemala's so-called "dry corridor," <"http://www.wfp.org/countries/guatemala">WFP has committed 20 tons of High Energy Biscuits (HEB) and 200 tons of other food supplies, including corn soy blended food, black beans and corn to complement Government rations assisting 75,000 families living in the most affected areas.

WFP will also expand a food-for-work scheme to support another 93,000 families affected by damage to the upcoming harvest and who will need assistance for around six months.

The Government has also made $7.5 million available to complete the first phase of its National Contingency Plan while calling on donors to make further donations in response to the crisis, according to WFP.

However, food shortages are likely to worsen, with a 60 to 80 per cent loss of crops expected in the upcoming harvest in some of Guatemala's provinces, which would put even more households at very high risk of becoming food insecure.

WFP noted that the annual food shortages caused by droughts in the six provinces of the "dry corridor" – Jutiapa, Santa Rosa, Zacapa, Chiquimula, El Progreso and Baja Verapaz – has been intensified by previous crop losses, low food stocks, combined with declining remittances, exports, tourism and foreign investment and rising unemployment due to the global recession.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) announced today that the country team plans to issue a flash appeal in the coming days to respond to the current humanitarian crisis in the Central American country.

AROUND 88,000 PEOPLE DISPLACED BY FLOODS IN BURKINA FASO, UN REPORTS

An estimated 48,000 people uprooted by severe flooding in Burkina Faso are sheltering in temporary accommodation such as schools, churches and public buildings while another 40,000 are living with host families, the United Nations reported today.

A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1414">UNDAC) team that went to Burkina Faso in the wake of the recent flooding also found that facilities in many of the buildings in which people are taking shelter, especially sanitation, are under strain.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) said that a flash appeal is being finalized for the emergency in Burkina Faso, which is among the countries hardest hit by the deadly floods across West Africa that have affected 600,000 people in the region, claimed nearly 160 lives and destroyed crops and infrastructure.

There has been damage in Burkina Faso to the Central University Hospital, bridges, dams, roads, schools and agricultural land. The areas most affected are the capital, Ouagadougou, and surrounding region.

A survey conducted last week by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) identified the need to support the many small farmers affected by the floods with technical and livelihood support.

UN humanitarian agencies and their partners are providing emergency relief, including food, medical supplies, shelter material, hygiene kits and disinfection materials to those affected.

Floods caused by torrential rainfall in West Africa have also affected Sierra Leone Senegal, Ghana, Niger and Sierra Leone.

PAKISTAN: UN STEPS UP STRUGGLE TO GET CHILDREN BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER MASS DISPLACEMENT

A shortfall of around $20 million in educational funding is hampering efforts to get Pakistani children back to school in the aftermath of the mass exodus in the north-west of the country during the recent conflict in the area, the United Nations humanitarian arm announced today.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) reported that only 17 per cent of all activities covering the educational needs of children affected by the conflict in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) are currently funded.

Many children who have returned to the region have found that some 550 of their former schools have been damaged or destroyed, including 147 girls' schools.

With the recent start of the new school year, a group of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), led by the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) – is working to help provide access to education for all children affected by the emergency.

OCHA has reported in recent weeks that around 1.6 million of the more than 2 million people who fled the military offensive against militants in NWFP have now returned to their homes, stressing that there is an urgent need to provide school supplies and school tents for the new academic year until pre-fabricated shelters arrive for more than 500 schools in Swat and Buner districts. UNICEF has already dispatched 100 school tents to the two districts, enabling a number of returning children to start the year.

The children's agency has also prioritized the repair and rehabilitation of 3,565 primary schools damaged from hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) – estimated to benefit over half a million children – with nearly 1,000 schools already refurbished and the work on another 900 under way.

In addition, an 18-month 'Welcome to School' initiative, designed to get around 532,000 children into school and keep them there, is slated for Swat, Buner, Lower Dir and Malakand districts.

The scheme will create temporary learning spaces in tents, makeshift shelters, rented buildings or through "second shift" arrangements in nearby schools. Agencies working in education will also provide education supplies to all schools in conflict-affected districts and work to get all children in school, including those who have never attended schools, especially girls.

UN TEAM SURVEYS AFTERMATH OF INDONESIA’S LETHAL EARTHQUAKE

As a United Nations team today assessed emergency relief needs in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that struck Indonesia, local authorities said that the death toll has climbed to 57 and more than 3,000 people have been forced from their homes.

Another 42 people are missing and feared buried following a landslide in Cianjur district and almost 24,000 houses were either totally or partially damaged in yesterday's earthquake, with some 367 schools and 353 places of worship in West Java also affected, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

A team of 10 UN officials from various agencies were dispatched today to the areas most affected by the earthquake, which measures about 7.3 on the Richter scale when it struck the Tasikmalaya district of West Java.

Two serious aftershocks measuring 5.1 and 5.4 respectively were also recorded within the next 90 minutes and 69 smaller tremors have since been reported, with indications that the quake was felt as far north as the national capital, Jakarta, and as far east as the island of Bali.

The UN assessment team – consisting of representatives from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), the World Bank and OCHA – started its mission in Tasikmalaya, South Bandung, Garut and Bandung districts and will visit the remaining affected districts of Ciamis and Cianjur tomorrow.

OCHA is also slated to meet tomorrow to finalize the results of the fact-finding operation, and Indonesia's National Coordinating Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) has reported that local and national governments have the resources to respond to the crisis.
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UN AGENCIES DISCUSS EARLY RECOVERY EFFORTS WITH PAKISTANI AUTHORITIES

United Nations officials have wrapped up a mission to Swat district in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to discuss the strengthening of humanitarian assistance to those uprooted by military operations in the region, as well as early recovery efforts.

"We met district authorities and national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and established the need for early recovery activities to start as soon as possible," said UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Mogwanja, who led the mission.

"So far the humanitarian community has distributed food and health kits but we want to expand our assistance," he stated.

As of last week, the Pakistani Government estimated that around 1.6 million of the over 2 million people displaced by conflict in NWFP had returned to their villages.

Over half of the returnees went back to the districts of Swat and Buner, among the areas hardest hit by the fighting, while the rest returned to Dir and Shangla districts.

During their mission to Swat, UN agencies gained a better understanding of the current situation and found that agriculture, education and health were of the highest importance, according to a news release issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

OCHA added that it is planning to open a satellite office in Swat that will work closely with the district authorities and other humanitarian actors on the ground.

The mission to Swat included representatives of OCHA, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

To assist the Government and the international community to respond to needs in the wake of the country's displacement crisis, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday announced the appointment of veteran French diplomat Jean-Maurice Ripert as his Special Envoy for Assistance to Pakistan.

Mr. Ripert, who is currently France's Ambassador to the UN, will be tasked with promoting a "strategic, coherent and comprehensive approach to supporting the humanitarian, recovery and reconstruction needs of crisis affected areas" in concert with the Pakistani Government and international partners.
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UNICEF HEAD SPEAKS OUT AGAINST VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN YEMEN

The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called for "immediate and secure" access to people uprooted by escalating clashes – mostly children and women – between Government forces and rebels in northern Yemen.

"Children cannot be the innocent victims of conflict," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said in a statement issued yesterday, noting that the agency stands ready to assist civilians caught up in the conflict.

The humanitarian situation in camps, she said, is becoming ever more dire due to the lack of basic services, including safe water, sanitation and nutrition.

"Thousands of more families remain trapped inside the conflict zone, unable to reach safer areas," Ms. Veneman added. "They, too, are in urgent need of humanitarian support."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today that insecurity is hindering aid agencies' efforts to reach people affected by the fighting, which could ultimately uproot up to 150,000 people.

Including those displaced by previous violence, some 119,000 people in Sa'ada governorate have fled clashes between Government troops and Al Houthi rebels which are now spreading to the neighbouring Amran governorate.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that the violence has affected 35,000 in the past two weeks alone.

Stepped up fighting in recent days "is worsening what is already a dire and complex humanitarian emergency," agency spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva.

"We are especially worried about the situation in Sa'ada city, the provincial capital of Sa'ada governorate," he said, noting that a UNHCR team has reported that there has been no water and electricity there since 10 August.

Additionally, there is a fuel shortage and it is becoming increasingly perilous for people to reach markets to purchase food, Mr. Mahecic said.

Although UNHCR, which last week called on donors for an additional $5 million to respond to the latest emergency, has registered hundreds of newly displaced families, registration has been suspended due to security situation inside the city as well as a curfew.

Along with preparing new aid shipments, the agency is working with local authorities on the construction of a new camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) that could house up to 3,500 people.

According to OCHA, the violence has made it difficult for humanitarian workers to access the uprooted and accurately assess the situation, with the Sa'ada airport having been closed to all non-military activities.

Travel by land from Yemen's capital, Sana'a, has been hampered by roadblocks, with UN agencies having evacuated non-resident staff from Sa'ada on 20 August.

The Ministry of Public Health has pointed to an alarming situation in Sa'ada, which borders Saudi Arabia and is a relatively remote and inaccessible region where many health facilities are currently not functioning.

According to an inter-agency assessment in Haradh, many IDPs were found to be living without shelter or water and are at risk of heat stroke and severe dehydration. Further, cases of diarrhoeal diseases and child malnutrition have been reported.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has airlifted 40 metric tonnes of high energy biscuits, distributing 10 metric tonnes of food aid to 7,000 newly-displaced people in Hajjah governorate. It started delivering a one-month ration of cereals, pulses, vegetable, salt and sugar on 23 August for 10,000 people.

For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided two trauma kits to the Ministry of Public Health, while a mobile health clinic was deployed last week.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released $1.2 million for rapid response measures to provide immediate assistance to 25,000 people displaced by previous fighting in Sa'ada.

A flash appeal, to fund life-saving assistance for up to 150,000 IDPs and other indirectly affected people, is being prepared.
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FEATURE: FIVE YEARS AFTER TSUNAMI, INDONESIA BETTER PREPARED FOR CATASTROPHES

The devastating tsunami which hit Indonesia so hard in December 2004 had two positive effects: it pushed the population to reflect and improve its mechanisms for managing catastrophes, and in the country's Aceh province it led to the end of a conflict which had lasted 70 years.

Caused by a submarine earthquake off the coast of Aceh in western Indonesia, the tsunami sent waves reaching as high as 30 metres surging over all the lands within its reach including as far as Africa. Nearly 230,000 people in 11 countries were killed.

"Generally speaking, we have learned that tsunami presented us with a chance to improve ourselves not only in Aceh but also at the national level," said Titi Moektijasih, responsible for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/News/tabid/1080/Default.aspx">OCHA) coordination and liaison with the Government agency managing catastrophes. She spoke to the <"http://www.un.org/news/">UN News Centre in connection with <"http://www.un.org/en/events/humanitarianday/2009/">World Humanitarian Day, which is being observed today.

"After the tsunami, [Indonesia's] Parliament and civil society worked together to put in place a law on the management of catastrophes, something that had never happened before. There was draft law but it had never been truly discussed."

Titi, herself a tsunami victim, explains that even two years ago it was very difficult for her to speak of her experience. "But today speaking about it affords me some ease," she concedes.

On 26 December 2004, the tsunami, already four metres high and travelling at 20 kilometres an hour, struck the centre of Banda Aceh, moving up two canals that had been dug to drain off waters from a flood in 2002. Titi is the sole survivor of three OCHA staff in the area.

"The tsunami made us think strategically, notably about juridical questions," she believes, adding that a law on the management of catastrophes was adopted in 2007. "The text covers a very vast field, but it is only beginning to be put into force. On the ground people have begun to rebuild and importantly a better infrastructure has been constructed."

Titi, who visited Aceh in March 2005, September 2007, and February 2008, says she has noticed important changes in the physical aspects of the territory. She also believes that the atmosphere has changed and that people no longer live in the atmosphere of suspicion that prevailed pre-tsunami, when Government forces fought Acehnese rebels.

"Today you hear of fighting in remote areas, but in my opinion it is very different."

As for the future, Titi believes that what is missing most from the reconstruction efforts is coordination. Resources are not lacking, neither financial, nor in terms of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved, "but the efforts are scattered."

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE STILL GRAVE, UN CAUTIONS

With not enough food to feed all 12.5 million Zimbabweans and funding requirements to provide urgently-needed aid only half met, the United Nations humanitarian arm today warned that the situation in the Southern African nation remains acute.

Even with commercial imports, there will be a 180,000 ton cereal deficit for 2009-2010, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

According to an assessment by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and Zimbabwean Government, only 1.4 million tons of cereal will be available domestically, compared to the more than 2 million needed.

Even assuming that 500,000 tons will be imported, there will still be a significant gap, OCHA warned.

The FAO-WFP assessment found that in spite of increased agricultural production this year, with the maize crop to have more than doubled, high food insecurity persists in Zimbabwe.
This year's abundant rainfall has resulted in the amount of maize harvested – 1.14 metric tons – recording a 130 per cent increase over 2008.
But study warned that this winter's wheat harvest is only expected to yield 12,000 tons, the lowest ever, due to the high cost of fertilizers and seeds, farmers' lack of funds and the unreliable electricity supply for irrigation.
Some 600,000 households will also be receiving agricultural help – supplied by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and funded by 10 donors – in the form of seeds, legumes and fertilizer, OCHA said today.

FAO suggested that additional resources be channeled into providing top-dressing fertilizer, which is needed later than at seed planting, but cautioned that it must reach farmers before the end of this November.

Only 47 per cent of the $718 million needed to assist Zimbabwe, less than half has been committed to date, OCHA noted.

The funds are intended to boost access to clean water for 6 million people, feed nearly 3 million people and assist 1.5 million children in getting educations.

Currently, 22,000 children under the age of five in Zimbabwe are in need of being treated for severe acute malnutrition, while maternal and child under-nutrition is largely responsible for over 12,000 deaths, or one-third, of all deaths of all under-five children.

OCHA reported today that while no cholera cases or deaths from the disease have been reported in the country since early last month, nearly10,000 cumulative cases and over 4,200 deaths have occurred.

Aid agencies have been preparing for another outbreak by pre-positioning emergency kits around the country.
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UN WARNS IT LACKS ACCESS TO 500,000 HUNGRY SOMALIS

Lack of access has prevented the United Nations from delivering food to 500,000 of its planned 3.3 million beneficiaries in Somalia over the past month, principally in Mogadishu and the south of the battle-scarred country.

At the same time, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) will face critical shortfalls as of October and urgently requires 209,000 metric tons of food worth $208 million to cover the current aid pipeline until the end of March 2010, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today.

As of the end of July, the Somalia consolidated appeal was 52 per cent funded at $438 million. In July, WFP delivered about 33,725 metric tons of food, 83 per cent of the planned tonnage, to 2.8 million beneficiaries in south-central Somalia and Puntland and Somaliland in the north. Lack of access and minor pipeline shortfalls cut off delivery from the full target of 3.3 million, OCHA said.

Mogadishu and the south have been shattered by an upsurge of attacks from Al-Shabaab and other militant Islamic groups against the provisional Government in a country that has had no functioning central authority and has been riven by factional fighting for nearly two decades.

WFP this week completed nutrition screening of vulnerable groups in Afmadow district in the Lower Juba region in southern Somalia, identifying 4,500 people, most of them children under the age of five, pregnant and lactating women in need of supplementary feeding. The agency will distribute 190 metric tons of food to them. Further screening is ongoing in the nearby Dobley district. In August, WFP will assist some 70,000 people with supplementary feeding in Somalia.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), meanwhile, has completed the construction of a two-kilometre network of pipes, tanks and kiosks to provide safe drinking water for nearly 17,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in Kaa Shiqal camp in Banadir district, near Mogadishu.

More than 10,500 people, mainly newly arrived IDPs, will benefit from 200 newly constructed latrines in IDP camps to the north and south of Mogadishu, OCHA reported.
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DONOR HELP CRUCIAL AS HEALTH SITUATION CRUMBLES IN SOUTH AND CENTRAL SOMALIA – UN

Donor assistance is urgently needed as the health situation in southern and central Somalia, including its violence-wracked capital, Mogadishu, continues to deteriorate, the United Nations humanitarian arm said today.

Violence in the impoverished Horn of Africa nation has impeded access to essential and life-saving health services, as well as to clean water and sanitation, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

A fresh wave of fighting, which broke out in Mogadishu in May, has driven 200,000 people from their homes, in addition to the more than 400,000 already displaced near the capital and along the Afgooye corridor, west of Mogadishu.

Poor coverage of health care is leading to more frequent communicable disease outbreaks, rising rates of severe acute malnutrition, and falling immunization rates, among other effects.

"With the country already facing one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world, the humanitarian health community is finding itself constrained by the health funding deficit, leaving a number of critical life-saving health projects uninitiated and ongoing ones under threat of cessation," OCHA said in a donor alert.

Earlier this week, relief organizations in Somalia issued an $11 million appeal to meet the emergency water and sanitation needs of those who have fled Mogadishu in recent weeks.

Aid agencies are currently only able to supply two to eight litres of water per person per day in that area, while between 7.5 and 15 litres – less than one flush of an average toilet – is considered the minimum needed for survival, according to OCHA.

There is also currently one latrine for every 212 displaced people in the Afgooye corridor, and a major concern is that effect the lack of water is having on efforts to prevent the spread of communicable diseases in overcrowded situations.
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BENIN: UN ACTIVATES HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AS HEAVY FLOODS TAKE TOLL

United Nations humanitarian agencies operating in Benin are conducting rapid assessments to determine how they can best assist the thousands of people caught up in the heavy floods that have struck the West African country.

At least 20,000 people are estimated to have been displaced or otherwise affected by the floods, with the area around Cotonou, the commercial capital, and along the entire southern coastline among the hardest hit regions.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today that it has deployed emergency staff to Benin to ensure that priority needs in health, shelter and water and sanitation are being met.

The World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) are all taking part in preliminary assessments to ascertain the most immediate needs of the population.

Benin is beset by flooding almost every year at this time because of the annual rainy season. But this year's inundations have been so severe this year that the Government has imposed a state of emergency.
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SPIRALING VIOLENCE CLAIMS HUNDREDS OF LIVES IN SOMALIA – UN REFUGEE AGENCY

The United Nations refugee agency today voiced its grave concern over the escalating violence and worsening displacement crisis in the Somali capital, where local hospitals report that over 250 civilians have been killed and nearly 1,000 others wounded since fighting erupted last month.

Continued fighting, which broke out on 7 May in several parts of north-west Mogadishu between Government forces and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam, "is leaving a trail of civilian casualties, destruction and renewed displacement," William Spindler, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva.

Since violence broke out last month, the agency estimates that over 160,000 people have been driven to other parts of Somalia or to neighbouring nations, with some 26,000 uprooted between 19 and 22 June alone.

Most of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), numbering nearly 50,000, have moved to safer areas within Mogadishu or to makeshift camps on the capital's outskirts. A further 45,000 people have fled towards the so-called Afgooye corridor 30 kilometres south-east of Mogadishu, joining 400,000 other IDPs who have been displaced since 2007.

Some of the newly displaced are families who had recently returned to the capital after a period of relative peace in the first quarter of this year, Mr. Spindler said.

"Many IDPs tell stories of hardship and suffering as they try to flee the embattled Somali capital," he added, noting that most people escaping the clashes are leaving on minibuses, whose drivers are charging $250 or more, carrying 20 people on average.

According to UNHCR's local partners, a mother of six who had left Mogadishu said it took her nine days to reach Afmadow, 400 kilometres west of the capital, with transporters taking her money and leaving her family stranded along the route.

"The deteriorating security situation has sharply reduced deliveries of desperately needed humanitarian aid to the displaced in and around Mogadishu," the agency's spokesperson said, adding that UNHCR partners, which are providing emergency aid to IDPs, are facing growing security problems.

Neighbouring Kenya is seeing numbers of Somalis crossing the border increase. Since the start of the year, 38,000 new refugees – virtually all of them from Somalia – have arrived. The Dabaab camp, the largest in the world, is currently home to nearly 300,000 people, three times the number it is intended to hold.

More than $4 million has been allocated from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to alleviate overcrowding and assist Somali refugees at Kenyan camps, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.

Last week, the Security Council voiced its concern at the situation in Somalia, reiterating its support for the Transitional Federal Government, its efforts to achieve peace, security and reconciliation in Somalia through the UN-facilitated Djibouti process, which aided the formation of the new government in February, as well as the creation of a newly-expanded Parliament and election of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
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PRINCESS HAYA OF JORDAN CALLS ON DONORS TO SUPPORT UN RELIEF EFFORTS IN PAKISTAN

Characterizing the ongoing crisis in north-west Pakistan as the largest humanitarian emergency in the world today, United Nations Messenger of Peace Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan has called for a massive international response to aid the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people forced to live in makeshift shelters.

In a televised message across the Middle East and elsewhere, Princess Haya urged the public to step up donations to UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) operations, which provide support for over 2 million Pakistanis who have escaped the conflict between Government forces and militants in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

"Millions have been forced to leave, abandoning their homes, their communities and their loved ones," said Princess Haya. "They arrive needing everything: shelter, food, and medical care."

UNHCR said it is seeking to ease congestion by expanding camps, where the agency says around 10 per cent of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) have fled, and ramp up assistance to people taken in by families in local communities.

High Commissioner António Guterres has said that hundreds of millions of dollars will be needed for the overall relief effort as a shortage of resources is already reducing the amount of shelter and other aid items reaching IDPs, the agency said in a press release.

"Only with your help, can UNHCR revive hope, assist with shelter and meet other basic needs. Please help UNHCR," said Princess Haya.

The UN and its partners launched an appeal for $543 million on 22 May, of which just over one-quarter has been funded, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said two weeks ago.
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NEW GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS PACT SHOULD CONSIDER HUMANITARIAN SUFFERING – UN

NEW GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS PACT SHOULD CONSIDER HUMANITARIAN SUFFERING – UN
New York, Jun 8 2009 6:01PM
A group of 18 of key United Nations and partner aid agencies attending climate change talks in Bonn today called for the humanitarian impacts of global warming to be addressed in a new greenhouse gas emissions agreement to be negotiated later this year.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) said that the successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, with nations expected to wrap up negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark, this December, must take a practical approach to help alleviate the suffering of vulnerable populations caused by extreme weather and environmental degradation.

"The scale of the potential humanitarian challenge presented by climate change in the future is huge," said John Holmes, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), one of the UN bodies involved in the IASC.

"This is a defining moment to ensure that the challenge is not insurmountable and human suffering is minimised," added Mr. Holmes, who is also the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

More than 20 million people have been displaced by climate-related sudden-onset natural disasters in 2008 alone, according to a new study by OCHA and the Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

The total number of people affected by natural disasters has risen sharply over the past 10 years, with an average of 211 million people directly affected each year, nearly five times the number impacted by conflict in the same period.

Extreme and slow-onset climate events – such as floods, storms, droughts, rising sea levels and desertification – are impacting more and more people each year, with the most vulnerable including women and children, those already struggling with poverty, insecurity, hunger, poor health and environmental decline.

Climate change is also expected to dramatically affect patterns of migration and population movement, with many millions to be displaced by prolonged droughts, repeated floods or storms, according to an IASC news release.

The Committee noted that the Copenhagen agreement has potential to avert or reduce many of the humanitarian consequences of climate change over the next decade, but adapting to these climatic shocks will mean focusing on prevention and preparation by strengthening national and local r

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esources to cope with future disasters.

The UN talks under way in Bonn entered their second week today, with countries set to start making more detailed proposals on an initial round of comments on a proposed draft for the climate change deal.

"We are getting down to the nitty gritty of the negotiations," said Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
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FOOD AID REACHED 280,000 PEOPLE UPROOTED IN POST-CONFLICT SRI LANKA – UN

FOOD AID REACHED 280,000 PEOPLE UPROOTED IN POST-CONFLICT SRI LANKA – UN
New York, Jun 8 2009 6:00PM
Basic food supplies were distributed to around 280,000 people last month following the end of the conflict between Government forces and rebels in north-east Sri Lanka, the United Nations humanitarian wing announced today.

Over 2,200 megatons of food was dispersed, with supplemental food – particularly a corn soya blend – being delivered to underweight young children, as well as to pregnant and lactating women, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA).

For its part, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home">UNHCR) and other agencies providing shelter have built 6,500 emergency structures and over 13,000 tents to date, with more being erected as land is cleared.

OCHA reported that water and sanitation has been a huge challenge, but progress is being made, with half of the latrines needed in place and water currently being provided for 75 per cent of overall drinking and bathing needs.

As of 5 June, 40 per cent of the $155 million needed for the 2009 Common Humanitarian Action Plan for Sri Lanka has been received, and an additional $28 million pledged.

Last month, Sri Lanka's Government declared that its military operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was over, ending more than two decades of fighting.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week repeated his appeal to the South Asian island nation's Government to heed international calls for accountability and transparency, and for an inquiry into alleged abuses committed during the recently concluded conflict with Tamil rebels.

"It is crucially important that the Sri Lankan Government follow up on all the promises that they have made," Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1296">told reporters following an informal discussion with Security Council members on Sri Lanka.

"Whenever and wherever there are credible allegations of violations of humanitarian law, there should be a proper investigation," he said, adding that any inquiry must be supported by UN Member States and be "very impartial and objective."

The Secretary-General also stressed that it was time to unite, and warned against "the risk of triumphalism in the wake of victory," as this will hinder ongoing efforts by the Sri Lankan Government and people, and the international community, to help heal the wounds inflicted during the long-running conflict.
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MORE MUST BE DONE TO FIGHT ZIMBABWE CHOLERA OUTBREAK – UN

MORE MUST BE DONE TO FIGHT ZIMBABWE CHOLERA OUTBREAK – UN
New York, Jun 5 2009 3:00PM
Although the number of new cholera cases in Zimbabwe is reportedly on a downward trend, greater efforts are needed to combat the outbreak and address the source of the problem, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) said today.

According to OCHA, local medical authorities had reported that the number of new cases was down in most provinces, with no new deaths reported, but noted that new cases are still being reported in Harare, Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.

Stepped up efforts are needed in areas which are still reporting high numbers of new cases, and the problem of the lack of safe water and sanitation facilities – the main cause of the epidemic – has yet to be tackled in most parts of the Southern African nation, the Office said.

It also reported that this year's grain production has nearly tripled over the previous harvest, with an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of grain having been produced, compared with about 564,000 metric tons harvested in 2007-2008.

The increased yield will, however, not meet the country's food requirements, OCHA warned, noting that a cereal shortfall of 670,000 metric tons will have to be imported.

The second term of Zimbabwe's school year started last month, but the situation is still precarious, it stressed, calling for teachers' conditions of service, especially remuneration, to be addressed to ensure that they continue working.

Almost half-way through 2009, the Consolidated Appeal for Zimbabwe remains under-funded with only 36 per cent of the required $718 million covered, OCHA said. But with requirements outstripping the funds previously sought, a revised appeal was launched this week for an additional $168 to help some 6 million people in need.
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UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF PRAISES SUPPORT OF EUROPEAN DONORS

UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF PRAISES SUPPORT OF EUROPEAN DONORS
New York, Jun 3 2009 4:00PM
The top United Nations humanitarian official today paid tribute to the support his office receives from European donors at a meeting in Tallinn, Estonia.

John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, was speaking at a meeting of the Humanitarian Partnership Forum for Emerging European Donors.

"<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA, the European Union and the individual countries that are attending this meeting all share common humanitarian goals and interests," said Mr. Holmes, referring to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Attending the one-day meeting were representatives of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey.

OCHA has held four similar regional events – Abu Dhabi in 2005, Istanbul and Abu Dhabi in 2006, Seoul in 2007, and Mexico in 2008 – in a bid to build on its partnerships with countries involved in international aid.

These meetings have provided OCHA and its key partners opportunities to develop understanding and improve its preparedness and response to global humanitarian crises, OCHA said in a news release.

The next Humanitarian Partnership Forum meeting is scheduled to take place in Singapore in August of this year.
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FUNDS NEEDED TO REACH 2.6 MILLION DISPLACED PAKISTANIS WITH FOOD AID, SAYS UN

FUNDS NEEDED TO REACH 2.6 MILLION DISPLACED PAKISTANIS WITH FOOD AID, SAYS UN
New York, Jun 3 2009 3:00PM
Without the contribution of urgently-needed funds, the United Nations and its partners will only be able to feed the 2.6 million Pakistanis forced to flee clashes between the Government and militants for the next month or two, it was announced today.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA), the world body has less than half of the $280 million sought to meet the food needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan.

In addition, the $543 million Humanitarian Action Plan launched late last month is only 22 per cent funded.

OCHA also warned that current stocks of essential drugs will run out by the end of this month. There is already a shortage of hygiene kits and soap in all camps housing some 200,000 of the uprooted, it added.

The World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/hac/crises/pak/releases/3june2009/en/index.html">WHO) said today that the portion of the Action Plan dedicated to health needs is only 11 per cent funded.

There is a high risk of communicable disease outbreaks due to overcrowding, contaminated water, poor sanitation and inadequate health care provision, among other factors, WHO said, cautioning that a funding shortfall will impede abilities to detect and contain outbreaks.
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SOME 12,000 HOUSEHOLDS HIT BY FLOODS IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN, UN REPORTS

SOME 12,000 HOUSEHOLDS HIT BY FLOODS IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN, UN REPORTS
New York, Jun 3 2009 1:00PM
Some 12,000 households in nine provinces in northern and north-eastern Afghanistan have been affected by floods since April, according to the latest United Nations-backed assessments.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) reported today that another round of flooding is expected to hit the South Asian nation's north-east, as the snow remaining on the mountains of the Kunduz sub-basin begins to melt in the coming weeks, exacerbating the situation.

Given the amount of snowfall and the Kunduz River's rising water levels, OCHA predicts that the new floods could surpass the deadly 2005 floods in the region in both extent and duration.

Non-food relief supplies – including tents, blankets, family kits and plastic sheets – are urgently needed to meet ongoing needs, the Office noted.
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UN AGENCIES WORKING TO AID GROWING NUMBER OF DISPLACED SOMALIS

UN AGENCIES WORKING TO AID GROWING NUMBER OF DISPLACED SOMALIS
New York, Jun 1 2009 6:00PM
United Nations agencies are continuing to assist the growing number of Somalis – now estimated to be at least 70,000 – who have been uprooted by the recent surge in fighting in and around the capital, the world body's humanitarian wing said today.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home">UNHCR) has begun distributing relief items, including plastic sheets, blankets and kitchen utensils, to some 50,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Afgooye corridor, a 30-kilometre stretch of ramshackle houses north-west of Mogadishu, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) reported.

At least 70,000 people have been newly displaced to the corridor since fresh fighting erupted between Government forces and rebel militias in Mogadishu on 8 May, according to UNHCR. Most of those displaced are in need of emergency shelter, sanitation and water.

The UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) and local partners are already serving some 250,000 IDPs in the Afgooye corridor with clean piped and trucked water. Additional water trucking is planned for 18,000 IDPs located in remote areas, OCHA said.

In addition, the World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/">WFP) and a partner organization last week distributed 4,600 metric tons of assorted food commodities to around 333,900 beneficiaries in the corridor, including 80,000 cooked meals.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) and UNICEF have begun a campaign to screen and treat women and children in the area. The two agencies and their local partners aim to reach at least 130,000 children under the age of five and 153,000 women of child-bearing age.

Also, the Government of Italy dispatched an emergency humanitarian flight carrying part of a 23-ton consignment of health care supplies into Mogadishu for distribution to five hospitals and other health institutions in the capital, OCHA said.
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