UNICEF杜拜開設人道救援物資倉庫 全力運送南索馬里營養補給物資
2011-11-04
哥本哈根，丹麥／香港，2011年11月4日——聯合國兒童基金會（UNICEF）宣佈，成立首個專為紓緩索馬里糧食危機而設的人道救援物資倉庫，以加快轉運營養物資至災區。該物資倉庫位處杜拜港口，可縮短運輸時間，加快將營養物資送抵南索馬里，拯救當地6個饑荒地區及周邊更多的受災兒童。預料救災物資倉庫投入運作後，每月可望運送近5,000公噸玉米黃豆粉混合營養品到索馬里首都摩加迪沙，以至其他嚴重受災的地區。
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![UNICEF and other workers load ECD kits onto a truck, at a UNICEF warehouse in Port-au-Prince, the capital. The supplies also include care packages for children, part of a UNICEF collaboration with the United States Fund for UNICEF and varied private sector partners. Both the ECD kits and the child care packages are destined for residential child care centres and UNICEF-supported child-friendly spaces for children affected by the earthquake. Some of the men wear T-shirts bearing the UNICEF logo. [#2 IN SEQUENCE OF NINE] On 5 Feuary 2010 in Haiti, UNICEF Early Childhood Development (ECD) kits are being distributed in Port-au-Prince, the capital, to residential child care and child-friendly' spaces that are providing services for children affected by the 12 January earthquake. The quake killed an estimated 112,000 people and left 1 million homeless. Major government and private infrastructure were destroyed or heavily damaged. In Port-au-Prince, as many as 460,000 people continue to live in makeshift settlements, despite an exodus of up to 482,000 from the devastated city. Each ECD kit, for use by up to 50 children aged 0-6 years, contains age-appropriate educational materials and learning tools to help caregivers provide a range of activities that encourage child development and social interaction. Materials include art supplies, hand puppets for story-telling, puzzle blocks and memory games, as well as water containers and soap to promote proper hygiene. UNICEF created the kit to help support the development and learning of children aged 0-6 years who are affected by emergencies. This distribution is one of the first in a plan to provide 1,000 kits to centres serving small children affected by the quake.](/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/04-11-11_dubai-hub_1-300x199.jpg) |
![One-and-half year old Cherline Noel, who is malnourished, eats a high-energy biscuit in a baby tent in Caradeux, a displacement camp in Port-au-Prince, the capital. The tent is managed by the NGO Union des Amis Socio-Culturels dAction en Development (UNASCAD), a UNICEF partner. Baby tents are safe havens for women with small children, where they can learn about proper infant care and receive medical assistance. [#3 IN SEQUENCE OF THREE] In March 2011 in Haiti, malnutrition remains a major threat to childrens health. Some 25 per cent of children have low birthweight, and approximately 22 per cent of children under age five suffer moderate to severe malnutrition. As many as 300,000 Haitian children suffer from chronic malnutrition, and up to half of child deaths in the country are caused by malnutrition. Complicating this situation is the countrys slow recovery from the 12 January 2010 earthquake, a disaster that killed 220,000 people and left more than a million people homeless. UNICEF is working with a variety of partners to increase access to nutrition programmes, particularly in camps for those who remain displaced. UNICEF and partners are working to educate parents about proper nutrition for their children and to distribute therapeutic foods to those in need.](/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/04-11-11_dubai_3-300x200.jpg)
現時南索馬里有150萬名兒童亟需救援，45萬名兒童患上急性營養不良，當中19萬名兒童的情況更岌岌可危，若再得不到適切治療，恐怕他們數周內將抵受不住饑荒的煎熬，陸續喪生。
有賴商人Klaus-Michael Kuehne先生慷慨解囊，在旗下Kuehne基金撥出港幣585萬元（即75萬美元）的善款，支持杜拜人道救援物資倉庫首6個月的營運開支。此舉亦將有助本會面對經遁不同運輸途徑運送救援物資，所遇到突如其來的技術性困難。
UNICEF供應部主任Shanelle Hall女士表示：「這個人道救援物資中轉站，增加了物資運送的渠道，並有助我們策劃更準確、更周詳的運輸計劃，更有系統地將營養物資，源源不絕的送到受饑荒影響的兒童及其家庭的手中。我們衷心感謝Kuehne基金的鼎力支持。」
在緊急救援行動中，庫存、貯藏以至運送物資等物流程序，所涉的支出是最為龐大的。因此，能夠獲得來自私人界別的善款支持此人道救援物資倉庫的營運，無疑是對「非洲之角」的賑災物資運送一個極大的支持。
「人道救援行動，特別是非洲的救援工作，是我本人旗下的基金首要支持的項目。」Kuehne先生表示：「透過我們的人道支援及緊急救災物資平台，能更有效管理物資供應鏈，加快賑災成效。我衷心希望Kuehne基金能協助UNICEF，拯救在南索馬里飽受饑荒和旱災夾擊的兒童。」
由本年7至10月期間，UNICEF已運送近25,000公噸救援物資，支援「非洲之角」受旱災及饑荒影響的兒童。