(5 March 2010) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged to release up to $ 10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to enable UN agencies to support the Chilean government's efforts to cover urgent needs in the aftermath of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the country on 27 February.
The Secretary-General met with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet this afternoon in the presidential palace to discuss the country's immediate and long-term needs. They later held a joint meeting with government ministers and UN agency chiefs in Santiago.
"The UN Country Team represented at this meeting is working with the international community to provide the emergency relief goods indicated by the Government of Chile, including generators, satellite radios and mobile hospitals," said Ban Ki-moon.
The Secretary-General announced the creation of a joint working group between United Nations agencies and the Government of Chile to define the priority areas in which to allocate the emergency funds, particularly in health, emergency shelters, education and water and sanitation.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the United Nations Development Programme, along with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), will coordinate this working group with the Chilean authorities.
Ban Ki-moon commended what he described as President Bachelet's "extraordinary leadership" as well as her government's coordination with President-elect Sebastián Piñera, with whom he will meet this evening.
President Bachelet said she was grateful for the U.N.'s technical and financial support for Chile's recovery efforts, as well as Ban Ki-moon's visit to the area to personally see the damages caused by the earthquake.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Santiago today to express his solidarity to the Chilean people and offer immediate and long-term assistance to the government.
At 10 p.m. tonight, he will join President Bachelet in the launching of a 24-hour telethon to be broadcast on national television to help raise US$30 million for earthquake victims.
Early on Saturday, the Secretary-General will travel to Concepción, the second largest city in Chile over 300 miles south of Santiago, and the adjacent port of Talcahuano, two of the most devastated areas close to the epicenter, to see the extent of the damages there and meet with rescue workers and communities affected by the earthquake.
Before leaving Chile on Saturday evening, Ban Ki-moon will meet with the heads of the 15 United Nations agencies operating in Chile.
For more information, contact ECLAC's Information Services. Email: dpisantiago@cepal.org; telephone: (56-2) 210-2149.
