United Nations Radio


OCHA/UNICEF urge assistance for Latin America and the Caribbean

18/11/2008
There's concern in the United Nations humanitarian community over a lack of support for flash appeals for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs-OCHA says a Flash Appeal for Honduras was suffering in the same way as the flash appeal for Haiti.

Severe floods have left more than 320,000 people in need of assistance in Honduras.

OCHA says the flash appeal for Honduras requesting $ 17 million was only 10 per cent funded.

And the flash appeal for Haiti for $ 107 million was only 33 per cent funded.

OCHA says more assistance is needed in Honduras and Guatemala, notably in the food sector. It says access remains difficult due to bad road conditions and many communities remain isolated. The agricultural sector suffered severe damage with many harvests destroyed.

And UNICEF warns that the affected population in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially women and children, urgently need help and are not receiving it.

UNICEF says help is especially needed in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica.

The floods' effects are strongest in Honduras - where some 320,000 people are still in need of help - and in Guatemala, where another 180,000 people have been affected. Both Honduras and Guatemala have appealed to the international community for assistance.

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

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