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STORY: UN / EL NIÑO LA NIÑA IMPACT
TRT: 02:09
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 APRIL 2024, NEW YORK CITY /
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN Headquarters
25 APRIL 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press room dais
3. Med shot, Reena Ghelani and Beth Bechdol at press room dais
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Reena Ghelani, Climate Crisis Coordinator for the El Niño / La Niña Response:
“This El Niño event, just to say, this is one of the strongest we've had since 1950 when we started recording it. So, about 40 to 50 million people affected in 16 countries. And I've just come actually a couple of days ago from flooded areas of Kenya and really seen the sharp end of it. So, I met with communities who basically had everything, their whole lives washed away.”
5. Med shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Reena Ghelani, Climate Crisis Coordinator for the El Niño / La Niña Response:
“All of the communities are basically saying, they have never seen an impact like this. So, what we are facing now is, I mean, February was the hottest month in 100 years in the southern part of Africa. All of the harvests gone - and I'm sure Beth will talk more about that. And communities are basically looking forward saying this is the end of their livelihoods as they knew it.”
7. Wide shot, press room dais
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“It's time to really, I think, step up our collective efforts to make sure that anticipatory actions that support people at the most critical stage of when a crisis like this really begins to take its toll, is the most important approach that we can prioritize. And for us at FAO, this means farmers can protect their crops, their fields and their livestock. And oftentimes we think about these products, these assets of farmers and livestock herders as sources of income and livelihood. But really, if you think about them at their very core, they are sources of food supplies, they are sources of nutrition.”
9. Med shot, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Reena Ghelani, Climate Crisis Coordinator for the El Niño / La Niña Response:
“At the moment, there are projections this is going to get worse and affect communities well into next year. But as Beth has said, if we act now and act fast, the world will have not another major crisis on its hands. We can prevent this. We know what needs to be done and we can do it now with timely action.”
11. Wide shot, end of presser
The recently appointed Climate Crisis Coordinator for the El Niño / La Niña Response, Reena Ghelani, today (29 Apr) told journalists in New York that the current El Niño event “is one of the strongest we've had since 1950,” with 40 to 50 million people affected in 16 countries.
Ghelani, who just returned from visiting from flooded areas of Kenya and southern Africa, said, “I met with communities who basically had everything, their whole lives washed away.”
She said, “all of the communities are basically saying, they have never seen an impact like this.”
The Climate Crisis Coordinator noted that February “was the hottest month in 100 years in the southern part of Africa. All of the harvests gone,” and added that “communities are basically looking forward saying this is the end of their livelihoods as they knew it.”
Also briefing, the Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol, said it was time to “step up our collective efforts to make sure that anticipatory actions that support people at the most critical stage of when a crisis like this really begins to take its toll, is the most important approach that we can prioritize. “
Bechdol said that for FAO, “this means farmers can protect their crops, their fields and their livestock.”
She said, “oftentimes we think about these products, these assets of farmers and livestock herders as sources of income and livelihood. But really, if you think about them at their very core, they are sources of food supplies, they are sources of nutrition.”
Ghelani said, “at the moment, there are projections this is going to get worse and affect communities well into next year.”
But, she added, “if we act now and act fast, the world will have not another major crisis on its hands. We can prevent this. We know what needs to be done and we can do it now with timely action.”
She told reporters that upwards of 3 billion US dollars will be needed for prevention and mitigation efforts.
The Secretary-General, in a statement expressed sadness by the loss of life and damage caused by flash flooding in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya.
He extended his condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of Kenya.
