Top UN development official visits Bangladesh to spotlight flood relief efforts

The top United Nations development official warned today that money is urgently needed for the "very expensive" next stage of rehabilitating Bangladesh's health facilities, schools and economy after recent flooding killed 600 people and left 20 million more in need of food assistance for the coming year.

UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Mark Malloch Brown praised government efforts to overcome the losses, which prompted the UN to appeal for $210 million from international donors to help 5 million people in the hardest-hit areas.

To bolster the efforts, UNDP and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) are distributing food, hygiene kits, soap and clothes through national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with funding from the British Department for International Development.

Floods during April knocked out over 80 per cent of the rice crop in certain areas of Bangladesh. A second set of floods in July wiped out household food stocks and removed other sources of nutrition and income such as livestock rearing and agricultural day labour. Approximately 3 million homes were damaged or destroyed and the government estimates the cost at $7 billion.