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Bolivia: UN aid agencies bring relief in wake of deadly floods

Bolivia: UN aid agencies bring relief in wake of deadly floods

United Nations humanitarian agencies are helping the survivors of floods sweeping across large swathes of Bolivia that have already claimed at least 52 lives and affected more than 55,000 families.

Nearly $2 million has been allocated from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) so that immediate life-saving programmes can be implemented in the worst affected areas, according to officials from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The Bolivian Government has declared a state of natural disaster in response to the floods, which follow protracted heavy rains in the landlocked Andean nation. The department of Beni in the northeast is by far the worst hit, but the departments of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz are also suffering. In total, some 24,000 hectares of arable land have been destroyed.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is giving out 10 tons of high-energy biscuits while the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has provided at least 14,000 portions of baby food.