United Nations Headquarters – The United Nations is set to launch a funding appeal to support St Vincent and the Grenadines as ongoing volcanic explosions continue to disrupt life on the island and nearby countries, a top UN official said on Wednesday.
UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Caribbean, Didier Trebucq, briefed journalists in response to the growing humanitarian crisis sparked after long-dormant La Soufrière volcano erupted last Friday, displacing some 20 000 people, or roughly one-fifth of the population.
Around 6000 are considered vulnerable, the UN said.
“We are about to initiate the UN funding appeal and response plan to support the humanitarian response but also the early recovery for the next six months”, he said, speaking via video link from Barbados.
“This is a crisis that is going to last certainly more than six months in the sub-region, in St Vincent, and other islands,” Trebucq added.
The UN said St Vincent and the Grenadines, located in the southern Caribbean, consists of more than 30 islands and cays, nine of which are inhabited.
It said at 4 000 feet in height, La Soufrière dominates the largest island, St Vincent and that the volcano had been silent since 1979, but began spewing smoke and rumbling in December, before erupting on Friday.
“We are facing regular eruptions of the volcano, including up to last night. We are expecting that continuous explosions and ash fall will continue over the coming weeks in St Vincent and the Grenadines but also in neighbouring islands such as Barbados, which has also been severely affected, as well as St Lucia and Grenada,” Trebucq said.
The UN said some 4 000 of the displaced people are now living in 87 shelters, though many facilities lack basic services such as drinking water. It also disclosed that others have found refuge with families and friends, while a handful fled to neighbouring countries on fishing boats.
Trebucq said right now, water is “priority number one”, as service has shut down in many areas and supplies are being transported from sister Caribbean nations.
The Resident Coordinator said the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), the regional office of the UN health agency, World Health Organisation (WHO) are on the ground to assess needs.
“Priority number two is really about shelter management,” said Trebucq, highlighting the need for cots and basic hygiene items.
He said UN teams, including from the World Food Programme (WFP), are also working with Vincentian authorities on digital registration of beneficiaries for cash vouchers.
“The clean-up of the ashes, finally, is another important priority, in terms of environmental health but also clean-up to make sure that life can come back to normal outside the red zone as soon as possible,” Trebucq said.
Relatedly, he said UN agencies, in collaboration with the European Union, are also working to provide experts who will devise a plan for the clean-up of volcanic ash in St Vincent and the Grenadines and the other affected islands. (CMC)
