UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations is in urgent need of US$98 million to finance emergency aid for the people of North Korea, the UN co-ordinator for the country said on Thursday.
Of the $150 million required to maintain food, health and sanitation programmes by five UN agencies in the country for 2013, $98 million is still needed, the world body said.
“External assistance continues to play a vital role in safeguarding the lives of millions,” UN resident co-ordinator Ghulam Isaczai said in a statement.
“Without sustained humanitarian support, the gains made in the past 10 years in improving food security and the overall health and nutrition of the most vulnerable” could be reversed, Isaczai said.
International aid, particularly from the United States and South Korea, has dried up in recent years amid tension over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
“While the overall humanitarian situation has improved slightly over the last 12 months, the structural causes of people’s vulnerability persist,” Isaczai said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in a separate statement issued by his spokesman, called on donors to come forward to “respond to this serious situation.”
Ban said he appreciated Seoul’s decision to provide humanitarian aid to Pyongyang via UNICEF, and said he hoped other countries would follow suit.– AFP
Đăng ký: VietNam News