UN Calls for Greater Support for St Vincent and the Grenadines

The United Nations Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Didier Trebucq made a call to join efforts for the recovery of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines since a UN funding appeal has just only reached 31 percent of its goal.

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The US$29.2 million UN funding initiative was launched in April following the La Soufriere volcano's eruption. So far, less than US$9.1 million have been donated.

Support has been provided mainly from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and European countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany.

These funds are required to recover eight critical sectors among which are food security, health, infrastructure, and education.

In May, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves thanked the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for a US$3.8 million donation to advance in the humanitarian response. 

He also appreciated regional leaders and organizations' solidarity, such as the "Simon Bolivar" humanitarian Task Force sent by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP).

On April 9, the La Soufriere volcano erupted after remaining silent for almost 42 years. At least 12,700 people were displaced towards provisional shelters.