22 August 2007 - Action Against Hunger's emergency response team is already on the ground in Cañete, Chincha y Pisco to assess the level of destruction to the water and sanitation infrastructure in the areas most affected by the recent earthquake.
"Fortunately, water is already being distributed via cistern tanks," says Christian Modino, Emergency Coordinator, Action Against Hunger. "However, the distribution of water is just part of the provisional emergency response. Water networks need to be rehabilitated and reconstructed as soon as possible. Given the level of destruction this can take many months," he continues.
From Pisco, Seguimon Garcia, Logistician, Action Against Hunger, adds "we are particularly concerned about the situation in the rural mountain districts. Communities in these areas are amongst the poorest in the country and until now these areas have only been accessible via helicopter. The emergency response has mainly concentrated on the cities. The population density in the mountainous areas may be lower but the people living there still require urgent assistance." Some peasants have managed to come down from the mountains after four days of walking and gave an account of the devastation that they face.
"Hundreds of families seem to have had their irrigation systems destroyed by the earthquake. These families are dependent on the cultivation of cotton and artichokes for their livelihood, so Action Against Hunger's reconstruction activities will be aimed at providing access to water needed for human consumption and for livelihood protection to prevent these families from becoming even more vulnerable", says Christian.
Action Against Hunger is receiving funding from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Caja Madrid's Emergency Fund for Social Work specifically for this emergency. Action Against Hunger is preparing an emergency intervention which will complement the activities of other organisations on the ground, and target people living in the most isolated areas where emergency assistance has not yet reached. "The reconstruction of water and sanitation systems will have to be part of costly and complex projects," concludes Modino. "However, this is the only way to move out of the emergency phase and ensure that the population can return to living without external assistance as soon as possible."
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Press contacts: Alicia Garcia: +34 91 771 1672/ agarcia@achesp.org (Spain) or Christine Kahmann: 0208 293 6196 / c.kahmann@aahuk.org (UK)
Action Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organisation, working in 43 of the world's poorest countries. Its vocation is to save lives, especially those of malnourished children, and to work with vulnerable populations to preserve and restore their livelihoods with dignity.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
