UNICEF New Zealand launches Vanuatu emergency appeal

Donate: www.unicef.org.nz/vanuatu

UNICEF New Zealand has launched an emergency appeal to respond to the severe devastation caused by Super Cyclone Pam in the Pacific region.

UNICEF is calling for NZD$2.73M (US$2M) internationally to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of children and families affected by the extreme storm. This amount is likely to increase in the coming days once additional assessments have been carried out.

Vanuatu will require extensive support to meet urgent needs in water, sanitation and hygiene, including the provision of water containers, purification tablets, soap, and temporary sanitation facilities.

264,000 people were in the disaster zone when the category 5 cyclone hit on 13th March, and continued over the islands throughout Saturday14th.

It is estimated that at least half the population of Vanuatu (132,000) have been affected, of which at least 54,000 are children.

UNICEF New Zealand Executive Director, Vivien Maidaborn, said, “While communications continue to be compromised with only one mobile tower operational in Port Vila, we have received estimates that 90% of homes in the capital have been damaged or destroyed.

“While updates from elsewhere have yet to emerge, this doesn’t bode well for many homes further afield in Vanuatu which tend to be built with natural and local materials such as thatched and corrugated roofs that are vulnerable to strong winds and floods.”

UNICEF is on the ground and responding with emergency supplies and personnel. The next few days will be critical as the scale of this emergency unfolds, but so far we know:

• Safe water supply and distribution has been destroyed for many. This rapidly increases the risk of water-borne diseases. UNICEF will supply water kits, water purification tablets, and support for water distribution including for evacuation centres in affected provinces.

• Medical supplies - early estimates suggest that a large number of people have been injured so UNICEF will be shipping in medical supplies such as health kits.

• Measles is already present in Vanuatu and any breakdown of sanitation or health systems can be deadly. UNICEF is deploying temporary clinics to ensure immunisations continue and health services resume.

• Schools are being used as evacuation centres, so UNICEF will need to support children's education, including providing school in a box kits. Children will need protecting with child friendly spaces in evacuation centres.

As Cyclone Pam wreaks Havoc in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, world leaders, governments and civil society are currently gathering in Sendai, Japan for the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

This meeting is part of a global push to reduce the loss of lives and the economic burden caused by natural and human-made humanitarian crises.

Ms Maidaborn added, “The increasing frequency of climate related natural disasters are a constant threat for people living in countries like Vanuatu. Cyclone Pam is a reminder to world leaders at Sendai that we need to invest and support the needs of children and their communities in this fragile region.

“You can help us supply urgently needed basic essentials to ensure the safety of children and families in the next trying days and weeks. We are calling on all New Zealanders to donate what they can at www.unicef.org.nz/vanuatu.”

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