UN focuses on reaching out relief to remote areas

KATHMANDU, May 8: The United Nations states that its focus is on providing the relief materials to the general public of the quake-affected remote regions of the country and on making arrangements for shelter to the victims before the onset of the monsoon.

Addressing a news conference at the UN House in Lalitpur Friday, Jamie Mc Goldrick, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, said , "Our main focus now is to reach as many of the affected people in remote, hard-to-reach areas and as quickly as possible to beat the onset of the monsoon. And we need to do so urgently, so that people have roofs over their heads and their other urgent needs are addressed before the monsoon season starts."


The much greater airlift capacity we currently have, the decentralisation of logistical support through the creation of additional (5) logistics hubs, and the inclusion of the road network each contribute to our ability to speed up the flow of relief goods, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator said.

He stated that to date, tens of thousands of tarpaulins were distributed; nearly 270,000 people received food; more than 300,000 people were provided with safe drinking water, etc.

Stating that coordination between government and partners is ongoing at all levels, from national to district and community levels, Mc Goldrick further said, " We recognize that primary responsibility for the relief effort lies with the government, and we are committed to complementing the Government's relief efforts."

He said the Chief District Officers (CDOs) and local administrations have the most detailed information about community needs and that the UN have been coordinating distribution with them so as to ensure even distribution and avoid duplication of relief efforts.

"Shelter remains our top most priority. Nearly 285,000 houses have been destroyed and another 230,000 thousand damaged, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without roof over their head," Mc Goldrick added.

Only 22.4 million USD aid received so far

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator also informed on the occasion that only 22.4 million US Dollars have been received so far in aid of the quake victims.

The UN on April 29 had made an appeal to all the UN member countries simultaneously from Kathmandu, Geneva and New York asking them for support, stating that Rs 41.5 billion was needed in aid of the quake-affected people of Nepal. RSS

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