UN Agencies Respond to Devastating Earthquakes and Natural Disasters Worldwide

The United Nations aid coordination office, OCHA, has released $10 million in response to the urgent need for food, water, shelter, and other lifesaving provisions following devastating earthquakes and aftershocks in Afghanistan. The UN relief chief, Tom Fletcher, stressed that more funding is needed to assist the thousands of Afghans who have lost their livelihoods in the catastrophe. Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has sent emergency relief items worth $4.5 million to assist over 5,000 households in Kunar and Jalalabad.

Key Takeaways:

• The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, has released $10 million in response to the urgent need for food, water, shelter, and other lifesaving provisions following devastating earthquakes and aftershocks in Afghanistan.
• The UN relief chief, Tom Fletcher, stressed that more funding is needed to assist the thousands of Afghans who have lost their livelihoods in the catastrophe.
• The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has sent emergency relief items worth $4.5 million to assist over 5,000 households in Kunar and Jalalabad.
• The UN agency for sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA, estimates that more than 11,600 pregnant women have been impacted by the earthquake.
• Pregnant women in Afghanistan already have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the Asia Pacific area, according to UNFPA.
• UNFPA continues to operate some twenty health clinics in the region, providing essential care to ensure safe deliveries and prevent further loss of life.
• In Haiti, gender-based violence (GBV) has reached alarming levels, with more than 6,200 incidents reported between January and July by service providers, according to the data gathered by UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
• Nearly half of the reported GBV cases were rapes, and 62% of rapes were carried out by armed groups, according to the data.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has updated its model lists of essential medicines to include new treatments for cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
• The revised lists, released Friday, guide procurement and coverage decisions in more than 150 countries and now include 523 medicines for adults and 374 for children.
• Monsoon flooding in northern Pakistan has impacted 1.5 million people and killed nearly 900 people, with hundreds of thousands needing assistance.
• The UN Secretary-General has expressed sadness at the scale of the emergency, and UN agencies and partners are working closely with Pakistan to identify needs and address gaps in the disaster response.

Statistics:

• $10 million: the amount of aid released by the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, in response to the devastating earthquakes and aftershocks in Afghanistan.
• $4.5 million: the value of emergency relief items sent by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, to assist over 5,000 households in Kunar and Jalalabad.
• 11,600: the estimated number of pregnant women impacted by the earthquake in Afghanistan.
• 6,200: the number of GBV incidents reported between January and July in Haiti by service providers, according to the data gathered by UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
• 62%: the percentage of rapes carried out by armed groups in Haiti, according to the data.
• 1.5 million: the number of people impacted by monsoon flooding in northern Pakistan.
• 900: the number of people killed by monsoon flooding in northern Pakistan.
• 523: the number of medicines for adults included in the revised WHO model list of essential medicines.
• 374: the number of medicines for children included in the revised WHO model list of essential medicines.

Sources:

• United Nations aid coordination office, OCHA.
• UN relief chief, Tom Fletcher.
• UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
• UN agency for sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA.
• World Health Organization (WHO).
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
• UN Secretary-General.
• Pakistan climate experts.