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UN launches 72-mln-USD appeal for quake-hit Ecuador

Xinhua, April 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United Nations on Friday launched the Flash Appeal for Ecuador, calling for 72.7 million U.S. dollars to assist some 350,000 people in need over the next three months.

The UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs Stephen O'Brien who returned on Thursday from his two-day visit to Ecuador, expressed "our collective support for the response effort by the Government of Ecuador and our deep solidarity with the people who have suffered such loss and injury and damage to their lives, their livelihoods and their homes."

The 7.8-magnitude quake, which struck Ecuador Saturday night, has killed at least 587 people, and more than 5,733 others were injured, reports said.

Some 2,000 buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged and some 280 schools affected. At least 720,000 people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance.

Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced the beginning Friday of the distribution of core relief items to three locations in Manabi Province -- Manta, Pernales and Portoviejo, including some 900 tents, 15,000 sleeping mats, 18,000 repellent-impregnated mosquito nets, plastic sheets and kitchen sets.

The aim is to deliver these items to some 40,000 people -- refugees, asylum-seekers and local citizens alike -- in the communities most affected by the earthquake.

UNHCR has already delivered tents and plastic sheeting to Esmeraldas, Jama and Canoa, and has begun work on the construction of a camp to provide essential shelter to scores of displaced families.

For its part, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has allocated half a million dollars as emergency funding in response to the earthquake, to boost recovery in affected areas.

Cash for work initiatives will start early next week, providing temporary employment to women and men and placing affected communities at the center of the recovery process.

An online and mobile donations platform is also collecting funds to support the quake-affected population. Enditem