Statement
10 February 2005
Guyana Floods - A statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
for International Development, Gareth Thomas.
 Unprecedented rainfall in the last two months has caused serious flooding
in large areas of Guyana’s coastal regions. Rainfall for the first two weeks
of January was five times the normal monthly average. 39% of the population of
Guyana are estimated to have been affected. The worst affected area is along
the East Coast from Mahaica to Georgetown, where 172,020 people have been
severely affected. Reports indicate 27 deaths associated with the flooding to
date, but there are no fully reliable figures at this time. It would be
surprising if the figure remained this low - aside from the risk of more
flooding we must be prepared for very serious health challenges as the waters
recede.
The Government’s civil defence/emergency stocks had been exhausted through
Guyana’s assistance to Grenada (following Hurricane Ivan) and not
replenished. Given the scale of the disaster, the Government has responded as
well as could be expected in the circumstances. Systematic assessments of the
population’s needs are underway by the UN and civil society. These should
establish prioritised needs and a division of responsibility around who can
fund and deliver relief against these needs. This process should also improve
quality of information on the extent and impact of the disaster.
The Government has responded to the emergency by setting up temporary shelter
in schools and other public buildings, as well as providing food and potable
water. Currently, there are about 1,695 people living in 17 shelters. The
World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that 3,200 families are in need of food.
WFP’s food supplies can provide food to 2,000 families for one month. The
remaining 1,200 families are being covered from other sources, but supplies to
these families are not as secure over the longer term. Evacuation points have
been identified, and at least three, which are already established military
camps, will not need much to get them operational. However, it is not clear
how many people these camps could take.
DFID’s immediate bilateral support was to provide £20,000 directly to the
Government’s relief effort. We also provided £80,000 to the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for their delivery of emergency supplies, including
water and environmental sanitation (WES) kits, and survival items such as
blankets and treated mosquito nets.
I spoke to President Jagdeo on the 27th January 2005, and expressed our
support for the Government and people of Guyana at this trying time. On 31
January, I approved an increase of our bilateral contribution from this
initial £100,000 by a further £180,000. This provided £120,000 for the
deployment of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) rapid
response team of 6 boats and 20 crew and personnel. They arrived in Guyana on
Wednesday 2 February and will help ease the problems in distribution
highlighted in the available assessment reports. We will also supply £57,000
to support the Pan American Health Organisation’s (PAHO) Water and
Sanitation Action Plans, which will achieve security of water quality for up
to 195,000 people (35,000 households). The Pan American Health Organisation
will also be tackling the problem of the disposal of human waste. On 8
February 2005, the United Nations launched a Flash Appeal for Guyana of
approximately £1.6m. DFID will continue to assess whether there is a case for
further support to the relief effort, specifically in the areas of water and
sanitation, and public health. We have budgeted a small amount - £10,000 –
for strengthening relief co-ordination.
The EU Delegation has announced the release of a total of €1.7million to the
relief effort. €700,000 from European Development Fund resources; €500,000
to Oxfam for water and sanitation work and €200,000 to the Pan American
Health Organisation for medical supplies and emergency health assistance (the
UK’s share of EDF is calculated at 12.7% giving a total here of £61,163).
€1million has been provided from the General Budget.: €650,000 for the
International Federation of the Red Cross for food including the cost of
transport; €350,000 yet to be allocated. (the UK’s share of the EU’s
budget funds is calculated at 18% giving a total here of £123,839). In all,
the UK has provided 185,002 to the emergency in Guyana through the EU.
In addition to our humanitarian relief, the President asked for DFID’s help
in re-orienting the Government’s programmes with the International Financial
Institutions to deal with long term needs for infrastructure rehabilitation
and livelihood recovery schemes. Once the immediate emergency has passed, DFID
will liaise with the Government of Guyana and its international partners on
these matters. Flood-impact on rice and sugar crops will have implications for
growth, debt and poverty reduction in Guyana. A team from the World Bank has
just completed its initial assessment and expects to circulate a report on 15
February 2005. The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ECLAC), will provide a more detailed assessment of the socio-economic impact
of the floods by early March.
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