PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
US: UN Humanitarian chief meets CAR refugees
New York, US (PANA) - Ms. Valerie Amos, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, on Tuesday visited a transit site for refugees, comprising mostly women and children fleeing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) located in Gaoui, near the Chadian capital, N'Djamena.
A UN statement obtained by PANA in New York said the refugees at the site were receiving food, vaccines and other support from UN agencies and partners.
According to the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 100,000 people displaced by the increasingly sectarian conflict in CAR were in Chad and urgently needed shelter and food,
The statement said that Ms. Amos' visit was meant to raise attention to the humanitarian situation in Chad, notably chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, as well as the impact of the neighbouring CAR crisis.
The humanitarian chief is accompanied by Mr. Robert Piper, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel.
During the visit, Ms. Amos will discuss how to support a more resilience-oriented approach to address chronic malnutrition and food insecurity in the Sahel.
The Sahel stretches from Mauritania in the west to Eritrea in the east, a vast belt dividing the Sahara desert and the savannahs to the south, which has undergone three major droughts in less than a decade and where more than 20 million people are at risk of hunger and an estimated 5 million children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition.
In February, the UN and its global humanitarian partners appealed for US$2 billion on behalf of some 20 million hungry people in the Sahel region, where violence and insecurity have created protracted internal displacement and where population growth is outstripping food production.
The statement said that during the visit, Ms. Amos would also meet with Chad's President Idriss Deby and other government officials, as well as representatives of the UN and NGOs, including UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Thomas Gurtner.
Before returning to New York, Ms. Amos is scheduled to also travel to the Chadian city of Mao, which is known for sparse vegetation.
-0- PANA AA/MA 6May2014
A UN statement obtained by PANA in New York said the refugees at the site were receiving food, vaccines and other support from UN agencies and partners.
According to the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 100,000 people displaced by the increasingly sectarian conflict in CAR were in Chad and urgently needed shelter and food,
The statement said that Ms. Amos' visit was meant to raise attention to the humanitarian situation in Chad, notably chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, as well as the impact of the neighbouring CAR crisis.
The humanitarian chief is accompanied by Mr. Robert Piper, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel.
During the visit, Ms. Amos will discuss how to support a more resilience-oriented approach to address chronic malnutrition and food insecurity in the Sahel.
The Sahel stretches from Mauritania in the west to Eritrea in the east, a vast belt dividing the Sahara desert and the savannahs to the south, which has undergone three major droughts in less than a decade and where more than 20 million people are at risk of hunger and an estimated 5 million children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition.
In February, the UN and its global humanitarian partners appealed for US$2 billion on behalf of some 20 million hungry people in the Sahel region, where violence and insecurity have created protracted internal displacement and where population growth is outstripping food production.
The statement said that during the visit, Ms. Amos would also meet with Chad's President Idriss Deby and other government officials, as well as representatives of the UN and NGOs, including UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Thomas Gurtner.
Before returning to New York, Ms. Amos is scheduled to also travel to the Chadian city of Mao, which is known for sparse vegetation.
-0- PANA AA/MA 6May2014
