A C-130 Hercules aircraft carrying emergency food rations is leaving today from the WFP's sub-regional emergency hub in Ecuador to the Peruvian coastal city of Pisco, for victims of Wednesday’s massive earthquake.

At the same time, WFP has appealed to the international community not to lose sight of a separate humanitarian crisis in the highland provinces of Ayacucho and Huancavelica, where the coldest weather in 30 years has caused an epidemic of pneumonia and other respiratory diseases.

At least 70 children under five have died and 600,000 people have fallen sick.

“This earthquake is just the latest tragedy to befall Peru, many of whose people have endured a lifetime of extreme poverty, as well as more recently suffering from the unusual and extreme cold that we fear could engulf thousands more,” said WFP Peru Country Director Guy Gauvreau.

Major food distribution

"Plans to launch a major food distribution to over 34,000 cold and hungry people in the highlands next week are set to go ahead despite the earthquake," Gauvreau said.

“While the earthquake places additional constraints on our operations, we are confident we can handle the two situations simultaneously,” he said.

At the same time, he said that initially, WFP intends to feed almost 25,000 victims for a two-month period from a special US$500,000 fund set up in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and will include 119 metric tons of canned fish and other ready-to-eat foods.

In addition, he said WFP had provided 309 tons of rice, beans, cooking oil, wheat flour and lentils to the Peruvian national programme for food assistance (PRONAA).

Needs assessment

Gauvreau said a further 240 tons of food would be provided in the coming days as the needs of the victims become better known.

Initial reports indicate that at least 80,000 people have been affected by the earthquake with some 16,700 families having lost their homes and means of subsistence.

Meanwhile, in the lower parts of the Peruvian highlands the inhabitants have lost their entire harvest to frost and hailstones. In the highest areas, where the only economic activity is the raising of llamas and alpacas, all the animals have died of the cold.

Alejandro López-Chicheri
Regional Spokesman
WFP/Latin America and the Caribbean
Tel.
+511 9777 3000
Cell. +511 9960 0872
SAT phone +874-762-012-080

Trevor Rowe
WFP/Latin America and the
Caribbean
Tel: +507-317-3974
Cell: +507-6674-2601
trevor.rowe@wfp.org

Elio Rujano
WFP/Latin America and the Caribbean
Tel. +507 3173930
Cel. +507 6617-9261

Monica San Martin
WFP/Peru
Tel. +51 1 440 4000
Cel. 511-9762-3150

Jennifer Parmelee
WFP/Washington
Tel. +1-202-6530010
Ext. 1149
Mob. +1-202-4223383

Bettina Luescher
WFP/New York
Tel. +1-212-9635196
Cell. +1-646-8241112