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06 January 2005: Programme Number 29

THE INDIAN OCEAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DISASTER
How is Africa affected?
Could the tsunami relief be bad news for Africa?
What are Africans contributing?

"An unprecedented global catastrophe requiring an unprecedented global response," says UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan about the Indian Ocean tsunami. We hear from WFP's Laura Melo about assistance being given to Somali victims:

"The tsunami has affected some of the most remote areas of Puntland. We've been trying to provide food assistance and it has not been easy exactly because of lack of infrastructure."

As billions of dollars are pledged for tsunami relief, the UN Emergency Humanitarian Coordinator, Jan Egeland, cautions that Africa's needs should not to be neglected: "If the world treats all humanitarian emergencies as equal now and take all the money for the tsunami victims out of their normally allocated budget for humanitarian relief, it would be constructive for programmes in Africa."

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