On Friday, the new volunteer ambassador of UNICEF Belgium, Tom Waes visited Copenhagen (Denmark) where the world’s largest distribution center of humanitarian supplies is located. Particular attention was paid to how aid in the fight against Ebola virus is routed to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The UN organization has already raised nearly $ 70 million, but support operations still require fundraising of 130 million more. By Friday, four cargo planes will depart from Liege to deliver humanitarian supplies to those most affected by the epidemic. All the materials for UNICEF field programs are centralized in the Copenhagen warehouse.
UNICEF has currently ranked five regions categorized as risk areas: Syria, Iraq, Central Africa, South Sudan and also West Africa, hit hard by an epidemic Ebola. The organization said that 200 million dollars were needed to support emergency interventions during the next six months, 70 million of which have already been collected, said Jens Grim from the UNICEF logistics department.
The money collected will be used primarily to finance the delivery of humanitarian supplies to the countries affected by the epidemic and its field staff. Since September 23rd, nearly 674 tons of supplies were sent to countries in West Africa. About 508 tons of supplies from Liege will be delivered Friday by plane. "Belgium is playing a vital role in the delivery of emergency goods to the most affected areas," said LienVanden Bossche of UNICEF Belgium.
In addition to distributing supplies, UNICEF, in collaboration with other organizations opened a new treatment center for infected people in Liberia, the "Ebola community care center" (ECCC).
Belgium also decided this week to donate two million euros to UNICEF for a prevention program in Liberia.
(Source: Belga)
