Peru: UN agency helps 80,000 earthquake survivors to rebuild their lives

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is carrying out a project to help some 80,000 people in Peru affected by an earthquake which caused widespread death and destruction there in August.

The quake affected some 370,000 residents in the central coast of the country, exacerbating conditions caused by months of low temperatures which had resulted in loss of crops, cattle and other means of subsistence.

The $7 million, nine-month operation aims to prevent a deterioration of the nutritional status of the victims, especially children up to two years of age, women and the elderly. It also has a food-for-work component that will help affected residents reconstruct their homes and productive infrastructure, WFP said in a news release.

“Although many people continue to face precarious living and working conditions, food assistance is arriving for those who need it most,” said Guy Gauvreau, WFP's Representative in Peru.

In the first hours after the earthquake, WFP began an immediate response operation which provided some $500,000 worth of assistance in the first two months to 25,000 people.

The new effort is funded by donors as well as the UN's own Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which was set up to close the resource gap that can hamper emergency relief efforts in their early stages.