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| Thursday, 30 December 2004 |
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World's biggest aid operation gets into gear GENEVA, Wednesday (AFP) The world's biggest-ever aid operation got into gear to help Asian countries stricken by tsunamis that smashed coastal towns leaving misery and the risk of disease in their wake. The unprecedented effort involved neighbouring Asian states, Europeans, the United States and international organisations. Doctors and relief workers faced vast devastation, with the latest death tolls across the region totalling more than 68,000 late Tuesday. In Geneva, a senior United Nations official said the world body was on the brink of launching its largest-ever appeal. Yvette Stevens, UN Assistant Emergency Relief aid coordinator, said the international aid needed for the areas around the Indian Ocean was likely to exceed the previous record UN appeal of 1.6 billion dollars for Iraq last year. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies appealed for 44 million dollars in immediate aid. "We face a huge challenge due to the vast area affected," Markku Niskala, secretary general of the organisation, said in Geneva, adding: "We haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg yet." The UNHCR said the situation was "so enormous and shocking" that it had opened stockpiles of shelters, matting, clothing and cooking materials in Sri Lanka, where nearly 22,000 were killed and 200,000 were homeless. "Our supplies are usually for displaced people, but this is an emergency and the local population needs help right now," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers said in Geneva. Aid planes from China, Denmark, France, India and Russia delivered humanitarian relief and medical staff to the island state. The United States pledged another 20 million dollars in aid, more than doubling its contribution while rebuffing a suggestion it was being "stingy." **** UN: post-tsunami disease could kill thousands GENEVA, Wednesday (Reuters) Disease could kill as many people in the stricken Indian Ocean region as died in the weekend tsunami, a top World Health Organisation (WHO) official said. Dr David Nabarro told a news conference it was vital to rush medical treatments and fresh water to the worst-hit countries in order to prevent a health catastrophe. "There is certainly a chance that we could have as many dying from communicable diseases as from the tsunami," Nabarro said. Nabarro, head of the Geneva-based U.N. agency's heath crisis team, said it was essential to get health systems back up and running and send in medical teams from abroad. |
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