UN calls for 60 million dollars for Haiti, Grenada

Monday, October 4, 2004

UNITED NATIONS (AFP): The United Nations on Friday made an emergency appeal for nearly 60 million dollars to help save lives in Haiti and Grenada, two Caribbean nations devastated by recent storms.

The UN's emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, asked for 32 million dollars for Haiti and 27 million dollars for Grenada in order to bring "life-saving humanitarian assistance" to the ravaged countries.

"We need it yesterday," Egeland told reporters. "The situation is very bad."

He said the money would be used for food, shelter, water, sanitation and medicine, and that only five million dollars had been received for each country so far.

"Haiti is in a class of its own because of the enormous death toll," Egeland said. "So far it's at 1,500 confirmed dead (and) it is still rising -- 950 people are still missing. Most of them are presumed dead."

In Grenada, he said, "The material damage is just unbelievable. The whole society has to be rebuilt."

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