Antara News, Sunday, October 3, 2010 01:51 WIB
Bogor, W Java (ANTARA News) - The United Nations Children`s Fund (UNICEF) has provided US$5 million in aid to finance post-quake rehabilitation and construction efforts in West Sumatra.
"In the past year we extended Rp45 billion ($5 million) in aid to mitigate the impact of the Sumatra quake," UNICEF spokesperson Lely Djuhari said in an e-mailed statement on Saturday.
An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale rocked the western coast of Sumatra Island on September 30 last year, killing at least 1,117 people, one-third of them children.
The quake also injured tens of thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of buildings particularly in the West Sumatra provincial capital of Padang and neighboring Padang Pariaman district.
An estimated 1.4 million people, including 700,000 children had been affected by the quake. They had lost their wealth and access to clean water.
A few hours after the quake struck the region, the government launched a one-month emergency response period. UNICEF was committed to supporting the program for six months to meet women and children`s urgent needs and strengthen alertness capacity.
The government has so far allocated more than US$333 million in funds to the post-quake reconstruction efforts in the region.
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