18 children die as severe cold weather strikes Peru, UN reports

Severe cold weather – including snowstorms and heavy rainfall – has struck southern and central Peru, where nearly 20 children have died from acute respiratory infections, the United Nations humanitarian office said today.

An assessment mission by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said the situation is particularly worrisome in several southern provinces, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

According to information from Government offices, some 85,000 people are affected. Some 1.4 million people with respiratory infections and 400,000 with pneumonia have received medical attention, although 18 children have died as a consequence of acute respiratory infections.

OCHA reported WFP is ready to mobilize $200,000 in support of the affected population. For its part, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has provided 2,000 articles of warm clothing and blankets for children under the age of one, and 500 heavy garments to one of its offices in central Peru. The agency has also pre-positioned 2,500 medical treatments kits for pneumonia in Lima.