29 Mar 2010

Red Cross appeals for Mongolia aid

The Red Cross has appealed for nearly $1 million to help thousands of Mongolians who have lost their herds during a severe drought and harsh winter.

About one-tenth of Mongolia's livestock, an estimated 4.5 million animals, have perished leaving herders desperate for food and other emergency relief.

mongolia

"Thousands of families have lost their entire flocks of animals, and these are among the poorest and the most vulnerable herders," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Monday.
"We need to ramp up our assistance to help these families get through the next few months and also to see what their longer term options are."

The IFRC have been distributing food, blankets and warm clothing to 1,200 of the worst-affected families. 
But it is seeking $935,000 to help a further 3,400 herder families find alternative means to survive, cope with depression and stress, and learn basic health education.

"It is so hard to have nothing left and I'm so happy to see people coming to help us," Tsendjav Lkhagvasuren, a herder, said.

Al Jazeera