Oxfam to spend £796,000 ($1.55m) on emergency relief for China earthquake

Oxfam International Press Release
13 May 2008

International aid agency Oxfam has today allocated £796,000 ($1.55m)for initial emergency response to the earthquake which rocked southwestern China on Monday 13 May.

A team of aid workers are traveling to Wenchuan County in Sichuan- the quake's epicentre - from their base in Kunming, Yunnan province. They will assess the damage and co-ordinate emergency relief work.

Lum Kwok Choi of Oxfam Hong Kong said: "This is the biggest earthquake in China for decades. Oxfam staff are now in contact with local government agencies and other partners in the affected areas and preparing for emergency response work.

"Our initial assessment is that survivors of the earthquake are in need of clean water, food, medicine, clothing and blankets. In the longer-term, it is clear that rehabilitation and reconstruction will be massive tasks."

Oxfam Hong Kong operates community development projects in Gansu Province which has also been affected, and is most likely to do emergency work in Wen County, which was seriously hit.

Contact:

Lum Kwok Choi +852 31205285 / +852 90985887, kwokchoi [at] oxfam.org.hk
Keith WONG +852 3120 5281 / +852 94262764, keithw [at] oxfam.org.hk

ROI: Paul Dunphy, Media and Communications Executive, 01 635 0422, paul.dunphy@oxfamireland.org
NI: Phillip Graham, Media and Communications Officer, 028 9089 5959, phillip.graham@oxfamireland.org

Oxfam Ireland is an independent member of Oxfam International- a group of thirteen non-governmental agencies dedicated to fighting poverty and related injustice around the world.