“We must now focus on an emergency response,” he said, citing a three-phase plan to provide humanitarian assistance to all affected Ukrainians who have endured more than a year of war following Russia’s all-out invasion of February 2022. “We need to rescue people and get them to places where they are safe and can eat and have clean drinking water.”
Current situation report
Four days after the dam collapse in southern Ukraine, floods have started to subside, although the disaster is waning still causes crowding and rising humanitarian needs, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) which Mr. Griffiths directs.
In the Kherson region, which is under Ukrainian control, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that 320 people were displaced in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number forced to flee their homes to over 2,500.
In the Ukrainian-controlled areas of Kherson Almost 40 villages and towns were badly hit by the floodwith more than 3,620 homes registered as damaged so far, OCHA said in its latest situation report released late Friday afternoon.
Three-stage response plan
Emphasis on the UN Three-phase response plan, the UN aid chief said emergency response measures included getting people to safety, delivering life-saving supplies and assessing longer-term consequences. A call for emergency aid is also in the works, he said.
Responding to media reports relating to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s comments about aid agencies’ slow response, Mr Griffiths said an immediate response had always been the priority.
“I understand the President’s frustration,” he said. “We’ve been focused on getting the response going as soon as possible.”
He’s giving an overview of recent efforts, he said two convoys Thursday’s delivery had reached 30,000 people in Kherson, along with another delivery on Friday, adding that “the engine is moving”.
The priorities of the first phase in the coming days will be to continue both Rescue people and deliver medical supplies and food aidalso with boats of the World Food Program (WFP), he said.
The next phase will aim to reach those in need, including the 700,000 people who currently lack clean drinking waterand provision of livelihood assistance.
Studying the environmental and economic consequences will be part of the third phase, he said. This could be the “most terrible shock” for the people of Ukraine and the Global South, because it is will inevitably have an impact on food security As Ukraine’s “breadbasket” will certainly be affected, he warned.
Denise Brown, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine (second from right), visits Biloserka, one of the communities hardest hit by the flooding from the Kakhovka Dam.
Contacting the Russian authorities
“We have been in contact with the Russian authorities in the last half hour,” he said, noting that his office supports it ask for permission to have secure access across lines.
Referring to the ongoing misinformation and disinformation campaign about the responsibility and circumstances surrounding the dam disaster, he said: “Our duty is to tell the truth to talk about needs and to fulfill them.”
“Our message to the region is one of solidarity and compassion,” he said. “The idea of going through more than a year of war… and then suddenly being awakened in the middle of the night by this explosion and torrent that robs you of any future you have known before… under the circumstances, the message of the world It is really easy: We are by your side in this time of need.”
Crisis in Sudan
Let’s turn to the crisis Sudanwhere fierce fighting has raged since rival forces clashed in mid-April, Mr Griffiths expressed hope the latest was imminent armisticescheduled to start on Saturday will work and “Give us a time slot“.
“We have reached an agreement Cross-border operation from Chad to West Darfur so we can actually start to see the magnitude of the needs,” he said.
“What is fundamental is the beginning of a process that will put an end to this war, address the reasons it started, and return it to civilian rule and the proper government embrace of its people,” he said.
“That’s what all humanitarian workers want: to be pushed out of business by the resolution of the conflict,” he added.
