UN seeks US $15 million to aid Goma

The United Nations issued on Monday a US $15-million humanitarian aid appeal for Goma, the town in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo engulfed by lava from a nearby volcano that forced thousands of residents to flee to neighbouring Rwanda, UN News reported.

It added that Goma's water and electricity distribution systems had been heavily damaged, although the water intake plant and power station nearby on Lake Kivu were intact.

However, water and sanitation, food and non-food items, shelter and health risks were among the primary concerns of the humanitarian actors, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in its UN Inter-Agency flash appeal for the Congo and Rwanda.

OCHA reported that electricity and water had been partially restored to the Goma. OCHA quoted agencies, which had been assessing the situation in the town, as saying that almost all the town's 400,000 residents had been adversely affected by Thursday's volcanic activity on Mt. Nyiragongo.

"Some lost their houses, others fled to neighbouring Rwanda or to western DRC. Disruption in economy trade has taken place and food supply lines have been cut," OCHA reported.

It added that the preliminary alert for aid was for 350,000 people. So far, it has been decided that the World Food Programme be the focal point for food and logistics; for the United Nations Children's Fund to take charge of the non-food items; Oxfam-Great Britain to take charge of the water and sanitation; and for the World Health Organisation to be in charge of health. OCHA and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination would be the focal points for volcano/risk analysis, with OCHA also taking charge of contingency planning, according to the flash appeal document.

Meanwhile, following a first-needs assessment of the situation in the region of the eruption, the European Commission (EC) made available five million euros (US $4.42 million) on Sunday, to cover the emergency needs of 100,000 people, one-third of the population affected by the eruption. The money will also be used to support coordination and logistics efforts. The commission said that the aid would be channelled through the UN, the Red Cross and nongovernmental implementing partners.

"With populations still on the move, our immediate priority is to provide rapid and flexible emergency assistance," Poul Nielson, the EC commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, was quoted as saying.

"Working with our partners, this decision means that people will get the food, water, shelter and medicine they so desperately need. We stand by to give further support and assistance as a long term partner to the Congolese people," he added.