The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OCHA , UNITED NATIONS
$93.6 million needed to support earthquake-affected in Herat, says UN aid coordination agency
$93.6 million needed to support earthquake-affected in Herat, says UN aid coordination agency
In the space of just eight days, three destructive 6.3 magnitude earthquakes rocked western Afghanistan’s province of Herat, killing 2,000 people and affecting 1.6 million, UN aid coordination agency OCHA said on Tuesday.
The high-intensity quakes have left thousands in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Latest on-site reports indicate that 66,000 people have been affected “and this figure is going up as we continue our assessments”, said Daniel Endres, Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Afghanistan, speaking from Kabul to journalists in Geneva.
The initial quake destroyed entire villages made of mud-brick homes. Schools and health clinics were also flattened. Most vulnerable communities now live out in the open, in makeshift shelters, in freezing temperatures ahead of the winter months. First aid, medical supplies, food, hygiene kits, emergency shelter and basic household items are part of the initial relief assistance provided.
But important damage to water and sanitation points is raising concerns of waterborne and other infectious disease outbreaks. “There is now no water for the people. It needs to be tanked in and the water systems that are on the ground have been impacted by debris. There is a risk of diseases because the water is going to be contaminated,” warned Mr. Endres. “The bigger job of addressing an earthquake comes in the next 12 months, in the reconstruction of the infrastructure, water in particular, and then, of course, the destroyed homes.”
The Humanitarian Country Team launched a multi-sectoral Herat Earthquake Response Plan (HRP) of $93.6 million to support 114,00 earthquake-affected people in the province of Herat. The appeal comes against a backdrop of chronic funding deficits, however. “Our current HRP remains severely underfunded. We've only received 30 per cent of requirements to date (this year),” said Katherine Carey, OCHA Deputy Head of humanitarian affairs office in Afghanistan.
Humanitarian partners continue to coordinate with the de-facto authorities. “That collaboration has been positive, said Mr. Endres. They have virtually not restricted us in the outreach to the people and doing the assessments.” Women are treated by female medical personnel and the work of women is permitted. “That's happening,” he confirmed.
The UN health agency, WHO, has also deployed a team of 21 female healthcare workers, medical doctors and midwives to different clinics.
Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan where there are multiple fault lines and frequent seismic movement among three tectonic plates in the area.
Ends
TRT: 2’39”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 17 Oct. 2023
DATELINE: Bi-Weekly Press Briefing - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva.
- Wide shot, Press room, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Daniel Endres, Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Afghanistan and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General Resident and Resident Coordinator: “Western Afghanistan, north of Herat has been struck by three earthquakes of the magnitude 6.3. And that means, the first one was on the 7th of October, the second one on the 11th, and last Sunday on the 15th, there was the third one. And so far, what we have assessed is that we have about 66,000 people who are affected. This figure is going up as we continue our assessments.”
- Cutaway: medium shot journalists taking notes
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Daniel Endres, Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Afghanistan and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General Resident and Resident Coordinator: “There is now no water for the people. It needs to be tanked in and the water systems that are on the ground have been impacted by debris. And there is a risk of diseases because the water is going to be contaminated.”
- Cutaway: wide shot of the press room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Daniel Endres, Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Afghanistan and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General Resident and Resident Coordinator: “First of all, in the initial humanitarian lifesaving and life sustaining phase, but it is very, very important that we also are fully aware the bigger job of addressing an earthquake comes in the next 12 months, in the reconstruction of the infrastructure, water in particular, and then, of course, the destroyed homes.”
- Cutaway: medium shot of journalist in the room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Katherine Carey, Deputy Head of Office, OCHA Afghanistan: “The plan is six months long. It just to sort of clarify, it is a plan that will be absorbed into the existing humanitarian response plan so that the requirements that are attached to it and these total $93.6 million dollars are already incorporated into our existing humanitarian response plan for 2023. But obviously our current HRP (humanitarian response plan) remains severely underfunded. We've only received 30% of requirements to date.”
- Cutaway: wide shot of the press room with journalists
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Daniel Endres, Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Afghanistan and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General Resident and Resident Coordinator: “That collaboration has been positive. They have virtually not restricted us in the outreach to the people and doing the assessments. That includes access to women by women. As you know, especially in the medical field, the work of women is permitted. And so, the women are, of course, undertreated by female medical personnel. And that's happening.”
- Cutaway: medium shot of journalists in the press room
- Various shots of Press conference room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News , B-roll | OCHA
Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA
Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.
/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP
Dangers grow for Myanmar earthquake survivors, health system 'overwhelmed' - UNDP
In earthquake-shattered central Myanmar people are sleeping in the streets in fear of buildings collapsing, facing early monsoon rains and the risk of waterborne diseases, the UN Development Programme warned on Tuesday.