By Bisola Adeyemo
A United Nations agency has distributed meals and cash to some households in Madagascar and conducted aerial surveys of the Cyclone Batsirai damage, a UN spokesman said on Friday.
The World Food Programme (WFP), supporting the government’s response, distributed 10,000 hot meals in cyclone shelters in Manakara, said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“The agency has also begun the distribution of prepositioned food to displaced people. They are also bringing food to Mananjary. Elsewhere, cash distributions for nearly 1,400 households is ongoing.” Dujarric said.
“The WFP supports rapid assessment, including through an aerial survey by the UN Humanitarian Air Service, which also flies an air bridge between the capital, Antananarivo, and areas impacted by the storm,” he said.
The spokesman said the agency provides road transport for its partners and has deployed staff to assess information technology needs for the humanitarian community.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the Madagascar government’s disaster management agency counted at least 111 deaths and nearly 61,500 more people displaced by the tropical storm last weekend.
