UN allots $5m for flood victims

The UN has announced allocation of $5 million as relief for the flood victims in the country's northeastern region.

Martin Griffiths, under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, UN, made the announcement on Wednesday after a coordinated appeal by the UN country team in Bangladesh, according to a statement issued by the UN yesterday. 

Over 7.2 million people have been affected by recent floods in the country's north-east, and over half of those affected need humanitarian assistance.

The funding comes from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which aims to kick-start relief efforts in a coordinated and prioritised manner when a new crisis emerges.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis, spoke of her recent visit to the flood affected areas.

"The scale of the floods in the region are more dramatic than any that have been experienced in recent memory. Many families have literally lost everything they own. Many are still living in shelters," Lewis said.

"The flood waters are receding very slowly and their homes are completely destroyed. There is an urgent need to scale up our support to the government's emergency response," she added.

This brings the current funding of the Humanitarian Response Plan to $12 million (Tk 112 crore), which is approximately 20 percent of the necessary $58.4 million that were identified.