UN humanitarian chief to visit Haiti

(New York, 21 October 2008): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes will visit Haiti on 23-24 October to review response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the storms that hit the country recently.

Haiti, already struggling with the impact of heavy rains during Hurricane Fay in mid-August, was struck by Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna. Gustav, which hit Haiti on 26 August, devastated five regions in the west and southwest, while Hanna, which made landfall on 2 September, impacted all 10 regions in Haiti. Subsequently, the country was also affected by Hurricane Ike.

During his visit, Mr. Holmes will have meetings with the country's leadership and representatives of the various United Nations and non-governmental organizations working in Haiti. He will also visit the city of Gonaives, which was devastated by the hurricanes. The agencies have jointly appealed for $107,714,621 to provide humanitarian and early recovery assistance over the next six months to survivors of the storms.

CONTACTS:

Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York,
+1 917 367 5126, +1 917 892 1679 mobile,
bunker@un.org;

John Nyaga, OCHA-NY+ 1 917 367 9262,
nyagaj@un.org;

Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653,
mobile, +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org.