Vanuatu one month on since Cyclone Pam

Vanuatu one month on since Cyclone Pam

More than 50,000 children in Vanuatu still need urgent help one month on from Cyclone Pam, says Save the Children.

Save the Children says that tens of thousands of children and families in Vanuatu continue to face crippling food and safe drinking water shortages just a month on from Cyclone Pam, a mega storm that tore through Vanuatu killing 16 people,affecting more than half the population.

Save the Children has so far reached more than 17,000 people, distributing food, water and other basic necessities like tarpaulins and helping communities establish sustainable water supplies, The aid agency says there is still much more to do.

“Many people in Vanuatu rely on subsistence farming for food, however Cyclone Pam destroyed thousands of hectares of crops and gardens, creating massive food shortages for large swathes of the country,” Save the Children Vanuatu Country Director Tom Skirrow said.

“The storm also caused the destruction and contamination of many water stores across the country, which is especially concerning for the outlying islands that are highly dependent on rainwater. This is

putting thousands of children at risk of potentially deadly water-borne diseases and illnesses like diarrhoea and malaria.

“Whilst assistance from the international community and the government has been amazing, it’s critical that additional support is found for the ongoing emergency response and longer term recovery efforts so we can help children and families get back on their feet and recover as quickly as possible.”

Almost 60,000 people in Vanuatu currently don’t have a reliable source of food, according to the World Food Program, while the UN estimates that more than 100,000 people don’t have reliable access to safe drinking water, about half of which are children.

Mr Skirrow said it would be several months before some communities are self-sufficient again. “It’s likely to be at least June before any of the crops planted following Cyclone Pam start producing any food, and communities are desperately trying to rebuild their water systems so they can have clean drinking water,” he said.

“Until these two things occur, tens of thousands of people will be relying on food handouts and emergency water treatment from aid agencies like Save the Children and the Vanuatu government.”

Save the Children has delivered aid relief like food, water and shelter to 8,000 people, including daily distributions to 32 evacuation centres in and around the capital Port Vila immediately after the cyclone, as well as communities throughout the Shepherd Islands. The aid agency has also vaccinated more than 7,000 children against measles.

Donate to Save the Children’s Cyclone Pam appeal at www.savethechildren.org,nz

ends

© Scoop Media