The UN presents a three-phase plan, in response to the catastrophe in the Ukrainian dam

After the destruction of the Kajovka dam on Tuesday, aid plans for the Ukrainian population focus on saving people “immediately,” the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator said in an interview with UN News on Friday. .

“We have to focus on an immediate emergency response,” said Martin Griffiths, who outlined a three-phase plan to help all Ukrainians affected by the dam explosion. “We have to save people and take them to places where they are safe and can eat, and get clean water“.

The three phases of the response plan

The priorities of the first phase over the next few days will be to continue rescuing people and delivering medical supplies and food aid, including to ships operated by the World Food Program (WFP).

The next stage will focus on serving the people most in need, including the 700,000 who currently lack drinking water, providing them with the necessary help for their subsistence.

The evaluation of the environmental and economic repercussions will form part of the third phase. Griffiths stressed that this may be the “biggest blow” for Ukrainians and the global South because it will undoubtedly have repercussions for food security, as it will affect the Ukrainian “breadbasket”. It should be remembered that before the conflict with Russia, Ukraine was one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of cereals.

Zelensky’s criticism of slow humanitarian response

Responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s comments about the slow reaction of aid agencies, Griffiths said immediate action was always the priority.

“I understand the president’s frustration,” he said. “We focused on trying to get the response moving as quickly as possible.”

Regarding the latest developments, he explained that two humanitarian convoys for 30,000 people arrived in Kherson yesterday and another delivery could be distributed today. “The gear is moving,” he stressed.

Contacts with the Russian authorities

“We have been in contact with the Russian authorities for the last half hour,” he said, noting that his office is seeking permission to have safe access to the other side of the front lines.

In relation to the current campaign of disinformation and misinformation about the responsibility and the circumstances surrounding the dam explosion, he said that “our obligation is to tell the truth about the needs and comply with it.”

“Our message to the region is one of solidarity and understanding,” he said. “The thought of you going through over a year of war… and suddenly being woken up in the middle of the night by this explosion and this torrent, taking away any future you may have known before… in these circumstances, the world’s message is very simple: we are by your side in these moments of need“.

Latest situation report

Four days after the destruction of the dam in southern Ukraine, the flooding has begun to subside, although the disaster continues to cause displacement and increased humanitarian needs, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the UN (OCHA), which Griffith heads.

In the Kherson region, which is under Ukrainian control, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported the displacement of 320 people in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of people forced to leave their homes to more than 2,500.

In Ukrainian-controlled areas of Kherson, nearly 40 towns and cities have been severely affected by flooding, with more than 3,620 houses damaged to date, according to the latest situation report released late Friday afternoon by OCHA. .

End the Crisis in Sudan

Another of the recent crises that Griffiths spoke about was that of Sudan. The African nation has been witnessing fierce fighting since early April when two rival military forces launched hostilities. Griffiths expressed his hope that the latest ceasefire, which will begin this Saturday, work and “give us a chance.”

“We have agreed to a cross-border operation from Chad to Western Darfur to begin to see the level of needs,” he said.

“What really matters is starting a process that will end this war, address the reasons why it started, and return it to a civilian regime and a government that is duly accepting of its population,” he said.