Tonnes of needed supplies reaches Fiji as part of UNICEF's response to TC Winston

Nearly 100 tonnes of urgently needed supplies for affected children and communities has arrived in the country as part of UNICEF’s response to Cyclone Winston.

The emergency supplies were flown in by UNICEF from its global supply hub in Copenhagen.

The Boeing 777 full of life-saving supplies linked to health, education, nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene and child protection provides a big boost to UNICEF’s response, which has already assisted more than 26,000 people whose homes and communities were ripped apart by Winston’s destructive winds.

Supplies on the chartered flight include 8,000 water containers, 7,480 tarpaulins, 3,250 mosquito nets, education supplies sufficient for 20,000 students, oral rehydration salts for the treatment of diarrhoea and dehydration, micronutrient powder to supplement the feeding of underweight children and other essential medical supplies.

UNICEF Pacific Representative, Doctor Karen Allen says this unprecedented disaster for Fiji has affected 40 percent of the population.

Doctor Allen said the disaster has uprooted children’s lives, taking away homes, schools, water supplies, health facilities, food crops and family livelihoods.

UNICEF said it has appealed for 7.1 million US dollars for the needs of Fiji’s affected children and communities.