UK donates over £320,000 to support victims of Peru floods
The UK is providing food, tents, mattresses and other essential supplies for families and orphans who have been affected by floods and mudslides in Peru.
The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has contributed £320,000 to Care International, Oxfam, and Action Against Hunger through the START Network to support ongoing relief efforts in Peru after heavy rains caused devastating floods and mudslides across the country. START Network, of which DFID is a founding supporter, is a global alliance of humanitarian organisations that provide rapid funding to small scale emergencies.
In parallel, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which includes funding from the UK, has mobilised €250 000 for emergency relief to communities affected by floods.
The British Embassy in Lima is also supporting immediate relief efforts by providing essential supplies for affected families and orphans, British Ambassador to Peru Anwar Choudhury has announced.
Over 150 families of the Shipibo-Konibo community in Cantagallo (Lima Province) have received humanitarian aid kits, which included inflatable mattresses and pumps, food, drinks, toilet paper, nappies, and other basic necessities. Additional UK relief efforts provided food, beds, household appliances, and a three-wheeler cargo vehicle to an orphanage in Chilca (Lima Province) that was relocated after mudslides made the site inoperable. The orphans also received stuffed Paddington bears.
Humanitarian tents will be donated to families made homeless by the floods.
HMA to Peru Anwar Choudhury said: “I extend my heartfelt condolences and solidarity with everyone who has been affected by the devastating floods across Peru. The UK has tried to act swiftly to deliver aid to communities in need.
“We will strive to do as much as we can to help as the situation develops in the north, particularly around Piura, and in the Amazon basin near Iquitos. An important national reconstruction effort will be required and, to that end, the UK is providing Peru with a long-standing commitment of £1bn in loan options, through UKEF, in areas such as infrastructure, energy, and water sanitation, among many other sectors”.
Contact
Gabriel Real de Azúa, Communications Manager British Embassy
Tel: (51 1) 617 3008
Email: gabriel.real2@fco.gov.uk