{"id":2309,"date":"2015-03-17T15:04:34","date_gmt":"2015-03-17T15:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=2309"},"modified":"2018-04-22T12:11:20","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T16:11:20","slug":"as-un-steps-up-aid-efforts-ban-promises-necessary-action-to-assist-cyclone-hit-vanuatu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2015\/03\/as-un-steps-up-aid-efforts-ban-promises-necessary-action-to-assist-cyclone-hit-vanuatu\/","title":{"rendered":"As UN steps up aid efforts, Ban promises \u2018necessary action\u2019 to assist cyclone-hit Vanuatu"},"content":{"rendered":"

With United Nations relief agencies stepping up their response in Vanuatu after the country was hit by Cyclone Pam, Secretary-General<\/a> Ban Ki-moon said today that the event \u201ctragically underscored\u201d the importance of global efforts on disaster risk reduction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have instructed to dispatch immediately an assistance team to Vanuatu,\u201d Mr. Ban said during a UN University symposium on the 70th anniversary of the UN, held in Tokyo. \u201cWe will take necessary action to mobilize humanitarian assistance to these Vanuatu people.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mr. Ban and other top UN officials are in Japan for the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which is taking place in Sendai through 18 March. Thousands of participants have gathered in the Japanese city to agree on a new framework for managing disaster risk which will reduce mortality and curb economic losses.<\/p>\n

The President of the Economic and Social Council, Martin Sajdik (Austria), issued a statement<\/a> in which he noted that the full extent of the damage remains under review, and that reports from the UN and aid agencies confirm that people lost their lives and thousands are homeless after the cyclone.<\/p>\n

\u201cCyclone Pam is an urgent reminder that disaster risk reduction must be part of national, regional and global development strategies,\u201d said Mr. Sajdik, underscoring the importance of addressing the immediate crisis but also thinking of the medium and long term.<\/p>\n

\u201cVanuatu is now facing a major humanitarian emergency,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no time to lose. We, the international community, governments, civil society, the private sector and individual citizens, all have a role to play. We must take action now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, UN agencies outlined the intensification of their efforts to respond to the needs of communities affected by the cyclone, which hit Vanuatu with winds of more than 250 kilometers per hour and one-meter storm surges on 13 and 14 March.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization<\/a> (WHO) in the Western Pacific Region is coordinating response to the devastation with Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health and other humanitarian organisations to bring much-needed health support to the Pacific nation.<\/p>\n