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Plans to help the people of Ukraine after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam are centered on saving lives “now”. The message is from the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths. In an interview with UN News, he said the priority right now is “to save people and get them to places where they are safe and can eat and get clean water.”
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Terrible shock
In the medium term, Griffiths believes it will be necessary to assess the “humanitarian consequences of this terrible act”. The humanitarian chief highlighted that 700,000 people are currently without access to drinking water.
Furthermore, he recalled that this is “one of the most mined parts of the world” and that explosive devices are now “floating”.
The United Nations Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator believes that the third phase of this crisis will represent the “most terrible shock for the people of Ukraine, but also for the Global South”.
Martin Griffiths says global food prices will “certainly” be impacted as this is an important area of wheat production and short-term harvests have been completely affected.
Ongoing humanitarian aid
In reaction to criticism of the UN's actions, the under-secretary-general stated that the organization's focus was on moving the humanitarian response “as quickly as possible” in the affected regions.
Griffiths recalled that since the end of last year he has been meeting with local authorities in the war-torn country, with the aim of ensuring the arrival of humanitarian aid in a “continuous” manner.
“Yesterday two convoys went to Kherson to deliver aid. We have already reached 30 thousand people so far. Another convoy was sent this Friday. The machine is working.”
2,500 people lost their homes
Four days after the dam failed, the flooding began to recede, although the incident is still causing displacement and increasing humanitarian needs.
In the Kherson region, which is under Ukrainian control, the International Organization for Migration, IOM, reported that 320 people were displaced in the last 24 hours. The total number of people who had to leave their homes reached 2,500.
Griffiths said he was in contact with Russian authorities to negotiate “safe access across the front lines” on both sides of the conflict.
Hope in Sudan
On the crisis in Sudan, where fighting between rival military forces has intensified since April 15, Griffiths expressed hope. He believes that the most recent ceasefire, scheduled to begin this June 10, can work and create “a window of opportunity to bring help”.
“What is fundamentally important is the beginning of a process that ends this war, that deals with the reasons why it started and that reestablishes civilian government.”
Griffiths said that “this is what all aid workers want: to end their activities due to the resolution of the conflict.”
Source: datagro
