Nearly one month after devastating flooding in Libya, recovery efforts are struggling to address the needs of survivors and displaced peoples.

Ahmad Algeriany, a Program Specialist with UNFPA, spoke with NPR about the situation on the ground in Libya. "Whole neighborhoods — we're talking about whole neighborhoods — were flooded, collapsed and carried away to the middle of the sea, along with the people inside them. We're talking 10-, 12-stories buildings collapsed and carried with the powerful stream to the depths of the Mediterranean, large numbers of families gone, as it happened suddenly after midnight."

More than 40,000 people have been displaced by the floods, including 24,000 pregnant women who are in need of essential sexual and reproductive health services.

In Derna, six primary health care centers were submerged and flooded. "Most of the materials and devices were damaged. And also, the staff that has been working in those facilities also were in the community which was damaged, severely damaged, and lost their lives," said Algeriany.

"The UNFPA is providing at least five teams now to those facilities," he added. "For primary health care and immediate health care, the people of Derna or the affected people in the shelters go to the health care facilities that have been established by the government and the UNFPA and other sister agencies in the U.N."

Your gifts are making a world of difference on the ground in flood-affected regions of Libya. But with a major gap to UNFPA’s Libya Emergency Response fund, generous support from private donors like you is still urgently needed:

Will you rush an emergency gift to deliver lifesaving care to pregnant women and survivors in Libya? With your support, we’ll ensure no survivor is turned away or forgotten in the aftermath of deadly flooding.

Thank you for being there during moments of crisis. We’re grateful to count on your support.

— Jacob Geers
Director of Digital Fundraising and Engagement
USA for UNFPA