Published on Wednesday, September 10, 2008
BONN, Germany: After the latest series of hurricanes, the situation on
the islands of Haiti and Cuba remains very tense and is set to remain so
in the longer term. In addition to direct damage, the medium-term impact
on local agriculture is grave, with bottlenecks in food supplies and
corresponding continuing price increases.
This is being drawn attention to by Welthungerhilfe in Bonn.
Simultaneously, the relief organisation is appealing for donations to
support its disaster aid and for reconstruction and rehabilitation.
"The most urgent tasks here in Cuba are emergency aid for the storm
victims and repairing an estimated 100,000 damaged homes," says Richard
Haep, Welthungerhilfe Regional Co-ordinator in Havana. Welthungerhilfe
is providing 50,000 Euro for Cuba as initial emergency aid.
In the medium term, the emphasis will above all be on supporting Cubans
hit by the disaster in getting their agriculture and trades and crafts
going again. No end of agricultural production facilities such as
chicken pens and fields have been destroyed, Haep points out.
The situation is very serious in Haiti, too, with large stretches of
land submerged, roads impassable, power supply interrupted and villages
and towns cut off from the rest of the country.
"As soon as the situation permits, we are going to help the people
resume agricultural production," says Michael Kahn, Welthungerhilfe
Regional Co-ordinator for Haiti. For instance, new seed is urgently
required to till the fields again as quickly as possible.
The two Caribbean islands of Cuba and Haiti have traditionally not been
self-sufficient in food supply. The food imports they therefore depend
on push the food prices up. This is another reason for getting local
production going again as soon as possible.
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