UNICEF is mobilizing nearly $10 million dollars to provide emergency relief to the displaced people in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Conditions among the refugee camps in Uzbekistan are cramped with major water and sanitation problems.

Veitch stated that reports of diarrheal disease outbreaks were coming in from Southern Kyrgyzstan. "We will have more emergency supplies arriving in Osh at the weekend."

"Security concerns still hamper our operation Kyrgyzstan," he said

UNICEF's Representative in Uzbekistan Jean-Michel Delmotte who has just returned from the border in eastern Uzbekistan said he had seen hundreds of children who were suffering psychologically and physically.

"It is heart-wrenching and UNICEF will deploy as soon as possible counsellors to assist with wide scale psychosocial interventions."

About UNICEF

UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

For further information, please contact:

John Budd, UNICEF Geneva,
Tel + 41 22 909 5429,
[email protected]

Patrick McCormick, UNICEF Media, New York,
Tel + 1 212 326-7426,
[email protected]