tsunami

Identities of the dead should be preserved after disasters, UN health agency says

4 January 2005
Rejecting myths arising out of major historical plagues, relief workers coping with large numbers of people killed by natural disasters such as last week’s earthquake and tsunami in South Asia should make every effort to respect the traditions of the affected communities and preserve the individual identities of the dead, the United Nations health agency says.
Kofi Annan

Annan will visit Indonesia to spearhead donor drive for tsunami aid effort

2 January 2005
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he would attend a high-level international conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, later this week to launch an appeal for emergency funds for the massive relief effort the UN is helping to coordinate in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster.

UN reports over $2 billion in pledges for the tsunami relief effort

1 January 2005
With some 40 countries offering support for the victims of the tsunami disaster, over $2 billion in pledges had already been recorded for the emergency and recovery phase, a senior United Nations relief official said today.
UNHCR team in Sri Lanka assessing needs of displaced

Multifaceted UN response to tsunami focuses on both large and small

31 December 2004
From water storage tanks in India to safe delivery kits for pregnant women in the Maldives to fishery experts in Indonesia, the massive United Nations relief operation for the victims of the Asia's devastating tsunami today continued to address a vast spectrum of needs, both general and specific, giant and small.
Kofi Annan with US Secretary of State Colin Powell (file photo)

As pledges for tsunami victims top $1.1 billion, Annan says logistics is biggest challenge

31 December 2004
With governments and international organizations having increased their combined pledges to help the victims of last Sunday's Asian tsunami to between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned today that the biggest challenge is now overcoming the logistics of distributing aid and relief supplies to the hardest-hit areas.
Devastated homes on the northern coast of Sri Lanka.

In UN relief effort after Asian tsunami, some details fall below public radar

30 December 2004
From floating mines – the dislodged detritus of long running civil war – to the psychological after-shocks of Asia's devastating tsunami, the massive United Nations relief operation is addressing the mini-crises that may slip below the radar of public attention amid the glare devoted to the immediate health and shelter emergencies.
Annan and Egeland (file photo)

Annan convenes emergency meeting to oversee UN tsunami relief operations

30 December 2004
With the United Nations health agency warning that up to 5 million people in Southeast Asia are without basic services after Sunday's devastating tsunami, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today chaired a top level emergency meeting to oversee what may turn out to be the largest ever UN relief effort for a natural disaster.
UNHCR handing over plastic mats in Wattala, Sri Lanka

Daunting logistical problems confront UN efforts to reach Asian tsunami victims

30 December 2004
Beyond the enormous effort to raise donations in cash and kind, one of the major challenges confronting the massive United Nations operation to bring relief to the survivors of the devastating Asian tsunami is to ensure that the aid reaches those who need it most despite daunting logistical and access problems.
UNHCR handing over plastic mats in Wattala, Sri Lanka

UN's initial tsunami relief takes various forms in worst-hit countries

29 December 2004
As the United Nations system moves into high gear to identify the immediate needs of the countries devastated by the South Asian tsunami that has reportedly claimed nearly 70,000 lives and affected millions more, initial actions have been tailored to help each of the worst-hit nations.
Kofi Annan

Annan cuts short holidays to oversee massive UN relief effort after Asian tsunami

29 December 2004
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is cutting short his end-of-year holidays to return to United Nations Headquarters in New York tonight to oversee the world body's relief efforts after the devastating tsunami that struck Southern Asia, killing some 80,000 people, injuring hundreds of thousands more and affecting millions.