A post on Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud’s page today said that the Mega Motti vessel of BK International carrying relief supplies for quake-hit Venezuela arrived at La Guaira port yesterday.
The vessel transported a shipment of humanitarian supplies comprising food and medicine for earthquake-affected communities in Venezuela. The post said that the shipment forms part of a regional response led by President Irfaan Ali with support from CARICOM member states and the private sector.
The supplies were received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela Yvan Gil, alongside Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela Dr. Richard Van West-Charles.
The death toll from the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 4,490, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said on Sunday on his Telegram account, according to Reuters.
The official count of injured remained unchanged at 16,740, while 6,462 people have been rescued.
A week ago, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said that 88 containers of relief supplies were dispatched aboard a vessel.
In the wake of the two major earthquakes, Guyana announced it would mobilize relief aid.
Speaking at the BK wharf, Phillips said that 88 containers had been filled and the relief was coming from Guyana, Jamaica, Belize, St Kitts-Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia and Grenada.
Three hundred black tanks were part of the shipment and the Prime Minister said that locally this was a joint effort by the business community, civil society and the government.
He thanked ANSA McAl, John Fernandes Limited, the BK Group, Muneshwer’s, RSD, Gaico, New GPC and the Suri Group.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on July 1st launched a US$24 million emergency appeal to support the first six months of the health response and early recovery following the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June.
A release from PAHO said that the funds will support the delivery of lifesaving health services, restoring essential health care, strengthening disease surveillance and outbreak prevention, ensuring continued access to essential medicines and vaccines, and rebuilding the operational capacity of the health system in the areas hardest hit by the quakes
PAHO said that the appeal aims to support approximately 700,000 people living in the municipalities most severely impacted by the earthquakes.
“While search and rescue efforts continue, the health emergency is entering a new phase,” said PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa. “Thousands of injured people require ongoing care, hospitals remain under enormous pressure, and the risk of disease outbreaks is increasing. This appeal will help save lives today while supporting the recovery of essential health services for the months ahead”, he added.
On 24 June, the earthquakes measuring magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck north-central Venezuela, causing one of the country’s most devastating natural disasters in decades.
Health risks are expected to grow in the coming weeks. Damage to health facilities, population displacement, overcrowded shelters, disruptions to vaccination services, and interruptions to water and sanitation systems increase the likelihood of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable and other communicable diseases, while the psychological impact on affected communities and health workers continues to mount.
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