On 24 May, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the epicenter Yingxiu, and met with people in need. Standing by the side of Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao, he said, “The whole world stands behind you and supports you.”

In response to the quake, the UN immediately made available $US 8 million relief grants from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). These funds have been used by 6 agencies working on the ground to support emergency relief activities.

The United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), under the coordination of the UN Disaster Management Team, joined the efforts. With a US$ 2 million package from the CERF, UNDP has focused on providing and delivering to the affected population much needed tents, quilts, clothing, food, drinking water and medicines.

UNDP has also allocated US$100,000 for coordination of UN, including assessing needs and initiating early recovery frameworks. Through various programmes on the ground, it is also providing tents, quilts, clothing, food, drinking water and medicines with the value of RMB 500,000 (around US$ 70,000) to some of the most affected communities, schools in particular.

The future needs are huge, and the UN system in China will remain a steadfast partner of the Chinese Government to provide further support to the nation’s long-term relief and recovery.

UNDP’s effort in providing assistance to quake victims is part of a coordinated response of the whole UN system in China under the umbrella of UN Resident Coordinator in China. For more on the UN system’s response, please visit the United Nations in China website (http://www.un.org.cn).

Tracking list of the UNDP Relief Materials as of 16 June: