By IRNA,
Tehran : The United Nations is mobilizing its resources in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday, the UN Information Center in Tehran (UNIC) reported on Thursday.
According to a UNIC’s press release, a copy of which was sent to IRNA, the UN sent its experts and supplies to the Caribbean nation and stressed the urgent need for food, water, search-and-rescue teams and medical help.
The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) reported that the 7.0 magnitude earthquake has caused major damage in the capital, Port-au-Prince, with the National Palace, the Ministry of Justice and other Government offices having been destroyed, UNIC added.
“We are still struggling to learn the full extent of the devastation from Tuesday’s earthquake,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an emergency informal meeting of the General Assembly, accompanied by former United States president Bill Clinton, who serves as UN Special Envoy for Haiti.
“Casualties can not yet be estimated but they are certain to be heavy,” Ban noted, adding that initial reports suggest that roughly a third of Haiti’s nine million people may have been affected.
Meanwhile, Clinton stressed there was a great desire around the world to help the Haitian people.
He encouraged people to donate money for the relief effort.
“The most important thing individuals can do, who care, is to send cash – even if it’s a dollar, or two dollars.”
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes identified search-and-rescue efforts as an immediate priority in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries.
“Every hour counts in this kind of situation when people are trapped under rubble and desperately need to be rescued,” he said.
A Chinese team has already touched down in Port-au-Prince, with two teams from the US with heavy equipment and dogs to aid their operation.
“The situation on the ground is very difficult,” said Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Susana Malcorra, with heavy equipment desperately needed to detect movement under the debris and to move large pieces of rubble.
According to the UNIC’s report, MINUSTAH troops have been working since Tuesday night to reach those trapped under the rubble, including their fellow UN colleagues.
Some 150 UN staff members – including the top UN envoy in Haiti, Hédi Annabi – remained unaccounted for following the collapse of the Christopher Hotel, which houses the UN’s headquarters, and other buildings used by the world body.
As of Wednesday evening, 16 UN peacekeepers have been confirmed dead – 1 Argentinean, 11 Brazilians, 1 Chadian and 3 Jordanians – but officials believe this number is likely to rise in the coming days.
Holmes also stressed the need for medical help, as hospitals are overwhelmed.
“We expect those needs to increase and are making a major effort in the UN system” to swiftly provide as much help as possible, he emphasized.
The UN has a head-start in the relief operation since it has humanitarian bodies – including the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – on the ground, Holmes said.
A flash appeal would be launched in the next few days, with $10 million having been released from the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to jump-start the operation in Haiti Wednesday, with the possibility of more funds being made available as the situation requires.
It was also announced Wednesday that the UN was pre-positioning an airplane, to be operational by Friday, to shuttle UN and humanitarian agency staff between Miami and Port-au-Prince.
Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of WFP, said that the agency was already deploying its resources in Haiti and was airlifting an additional 86 metric tons of food – enough for half a million emergency meals – from its emergency hub in El Salvador.
Additionally, the WFP would provide ready-to-eat food and high-energy biscuits for those who cannot access cooking facilities following the tremors.
“We will work with the Haitian Government, with our humanitarian partners on the ground, and with governments across the world as part of a coordinated international rescue and recovery effort,” Ms. Sheeran said in a statement.
For its part, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) was spearheading the health response to the earthquake.
Immediate health priorities include finding survivors pinned under rubble, treating people with major injuries and the provision of clean water and sanitation, the agency noted.
WHO is helping to collect data on the health impact of the earthquake and is also deploying a 12-member team comprising experts in mass casualty management, coordination of emergency health response and the management of dead bodies.
UNICEF, whose offices have been badly damaged, has said it would help children continue their schooling and provide safe play areas while their caretakers rebuild their lives.
Meanwhile, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has cautioned that thousands of women at risk from complications and death related to pregnancy and childbirth were in danger due to the earthquake.
Haiti has the highest maternal mortality rates in the region, with 670 deaths per 100,000 live births, and this figure is set to skyrocket due to Tuesday’s powerful tremors.
With buildings and infrastructure in Port-au-Prince having suffered extensive damage, “there is no doubt that we are facing a major humanitarian emergency and that a major relief effort will be required,” the UN chief told reporters Wednesday morning in New York.
Expressing gratitude to nations rushing aid to the earthquake’s victims, he called for the world to “come to Haiti’s aid in this hour of need.”