From Africa Recovery, Vol.11#3 (February 1998), Watch page

EL NIÑO
UN task force to guard against disaster

With the El Niño weather phenomenon already bringing floods, drought, fires and other calamities to countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, donors are gearing up to combat an especially widespread and complex natural disaster (see article Africa braces for El Niño's impact). To help both multilateral and bilateral donors better coordinate their responses, the UN has established an Inter-Agency Task Force on El Niño. It is headed by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Sergio Vieira de Mello and includes the World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization and more than a dozen other UN and international organizations, with coordination provided by the Geneva-based secretariat of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. One of the immediate aims of the Task Force is to exchange expertise and knowledge on El Niño, as well as to coordinate the development of strategies to counter its impact.

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