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 today, 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.