Republic of Mauritius- MV Wakashio

GIS – 26 August 2020: A United Nations Recovery Fund (UNRF) to the tune of USD 2.5 million was
launched, on Monday 24 August 2020, during a ceremony held at the State House,
in Réduit.  It will support the
Government of Mauritius and local communities to minimise the socio-economic
and environmental impact following the oil spill which resulted from the
grounding of the bulk carrier MV Wakashio at Pointe d’Esny.

The Recovery Fund was jointly
launched by the President
of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun and the Regional Director of the
International Organisation for Migration for Southern Africa and Acting Chair
of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mr
Charles Kwenin.

The UNRF, with seed funds of USD 250,000
from the Regional UN Sustainable Development Group for Eastern and Southern
Africa, will gather financial resources as well as technical assistance from
bilateral and multilateral donors, private sectors, philanthropists and civil
society.  These resources will be used to
respond to the ecological crisis through a coordinated, coherent and holistic
approach.

Moreover, it will
assist in building local capacities on how to deal with disaster prevention and
risk management.  It will also aid in
backing the livelihoods of the affected communities, amongst other
interventions, in order to help the Mauritian Government deal in a timely
manner with any similar situation in the future.

Government Information Service, Prime
Minister’s Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius.
Email: gis@govmu.org  Website: http://gis.govmu.org Mobile App: Search Gov