UN launches 29-mln-USD appeal to support Saint Vincent hit by volcano eruptions

UNITED NATIONS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations launched a global funding appeal of 29.2 million U.S. dollars on Monday to aid citizens of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines affected by the major eruptions from La Soufriere volcano, pledging to remain a "steadfast partner," UN News reported Tuesday.

The funding will provide immediate lifesaving humanitarian assistance, including clean water, and support a sustainable recovery for everyone impacted.

The UN and partners will also assess the economic, social and environmental toll on all the countries touched by the fallout, including ash removal and improving environmental health provisions.

Another UN priority is to continue preventing the spread of COVID-19, according to the report.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, located in the southern Caribbean, consists of more than 30 islands and cays, nine of which are inhabited.

At 4,000 feet or 1,220 meters tall, La Soufriere dominates the largest island of Saint Vincent. Silent since 1979, the volcano began spewing smoke and rumbling in December, before a full-blown eruption on April 9.

With over 12,700 evacuees having been registered in public shelters and in private homes, close to 20,000 people are expected to be displaced, UN News said.

Entire villages have been covered in ash, buildings damaged, schools and businesses closed, crops and livestock destroyed, and residents left with limited access to clean drinking water.

And further eruptions are expected in the coming weeks.

"The level of destruction that has befallen this beautiful country and the widespread disruption caused by this event will forever be etched in my mind. The devastating impact of this event on thousands of people is undeniable," UN News quoted UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Carribean, Didier Trebucq, as saying.

A call for international solidarity has been made to provide a lifeline to the most vulnerable people in Saint Vincent as well as in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada and Saint Lucia, which have been hit with severe ashfall.

This crisis comes as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is recovering from its largest COVID-19 surge amid the pandemic, the region's worst Dengue outbreak in recent history, and a new deadly hurricane season.

Meanwhile, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock announced the allocation of 1 million dollars from the UN's Central Emergency Respond Fund to urgently assist affected people, especially those who have had to be evacuated, UN News reported.