NAIROBI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya said Monday the UN has allocated 3 million U.S. dollars to assist people affected by severe floods, mudslides and landslides in Kenya.
Siddharth Chatterjee said the allocation from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) follows heavy rains across the country, which has killed more than 120 people and displaced more than 160,000 others since the beginning of October.
"The funds will allow humanitarian organizations to rapidly provide critical food and livelihood support, shelter and health services for the most vulnerable people in the hardest-hit areas, including children, women, the elderly and people living with disabilities," Chatterjee said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
He said the rains have also destroyed thousands of acres of farmland, in a context where the country was already facing increasing hunger, with 3.1 million people projected to be in crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity.
"We are very grateful to CERF for this timely and crucial contribution and urge other donors to support the response," Chatterjee added, on behalf of the UN agencies that will receive the funds.
He said the funds will be used to improve access to safe drinking water, both through repair of damaged water supplies and promotion of household water treatment and storage, as well as hygiene promotion campaigns, to prevent water- and vector-borne diseases in addition to provision of food, shelter materials and logistics support.
