UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS -
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Coordination and Emergency Response - Chernobyl
Department of Humanitarian Affairs
Press Release DHA/97/22
DHA/97/22
24 November 1997
UNITED NATIONS CONVENES A SPECIAL
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CHERNOBYL
GENEVA -- (Department of Humanitarian Affairs) -- Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Coordinator of International Cooperation on Chernobyl, is convening a Special International Meeting on Chernobyl on 25 November 1997 in New York. The meeting, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the ECOSOC Chamber, will provide information to the donor community on the efforts undertaken by the United Nations system and by other national and international organisations and institutions to eliminate or mitigate the consequences of the nuclear power plant explosion that took place in April 1986. It will also call for further support for relief actions and projects that have been prepared in cooperation with the national authorities of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. An Inter-Agency Programme of International Assistance to areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster will be launched at this event.
More than a decade after the accident at Chernobyl, there continue to be increased incidences of thyroid and other cancers reported among the affected populations, as well as higher morbidity rates among recovery workers. In addition, the 1.9 million people living in the affected areas are experiencing economic hardship, problems in the areas of food consumption, agricultural and forestry management, and other important areas such as environmental and nuclear safety.
In his report on the strengthening of international cooperation and coordination of efforts to study, mitigate and minimize the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster (A/52/537), the Secretary-General expressed deep concern over the ongoing effects of the disaster on the lives and health of people, particularly children, and pointed out the need for further substantial assistance. He also presented recommendations for future actions to improve both the immediate and long-term living conditions of those affected.
The Programme of International Assistance to be launched at the conference is based on the findings of the May 1997 Inter-Agency Needs-Assessment Mission to areas of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The more than 50 projects in the Programme address the following areas:
- the health sector, strengthening of health-monitoring activities, including a project for continued medical treatment of the "liquidators";
- social-psychological rehabilitation, with the strengthening of existing centres and creation of new centres;
- environmental issues, such as radiation protection, decontamination measures, agricultural and forestry activities;
- economic rehabilitation of the affected areas, the need to create commercial and investment possibilities in view of the redeployment of economic activities away from the affected areas;
- a new information strategy, in order to create confidence and to communicate better with the population regarding the consequences of the accident.
It is hoped that donors attending the conference will provide generous financial support to the proposed projects.
For more information, please contact: Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo (+4122) 917 28 56.
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