UNDP provides help for Fiji's schools affected by tropical cyclone Yasa

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is helping Fiji reach out to communities severely affected by the tropical cyclone Yasa in order to ensure schools are ready to open in January 2021.

According to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) on Tuesday, the UN agency offers help from providing temporary classrooms to helping heal the trauma of victims of cyclone Yasa.

UN Resident Coordinator for Fiji Sanaka Samarasinha said one of their priorities is to ensure tents to be set up in schools as classrooms to meet the children's educational needs.

"We need to make sure that the kids are able to come back to school in a few weeks when school starts," he said. "We really need to move more quickly to make sure that it is not just the tents or the repair or infrastructure but the environment is healthy for kids to move back."

"We remain worried about the possibility of health impacts. We know after such a disaster, we have problems like dengue, leptospirosis and typhoid and in the north, up there is a hotspot anyway even without a disaster so this is something the World Health Organization (WHO), which is part of the UN, is looking at to make sure we prevent such a thing from happening," he said.

Tropical cyclone Yasa hit Fiji on December 17-18, killing four people and causing huge damages especially in the northern island of Vanua Levu.