Ecuador Oil Spill One Month On: Red Cross Distributes Over One Million Liters of Water and Calls for Increased Humanitarian Assistance.
One month after a devastating oil spill in Ecuador affected more than 300,000 people, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Ecuadorian Red Cross have distributed over 1.8 million liters of safe water to communities whose water sources were contaminated or where piped water service was suspended.
In Esmeraldas—the province hardest hit by the oil spill—1.2 million liters of water have been delivered. An additional 622,000 liters have supported communities affected by ongoing heavy rains and floods. The rainy season has left over 139,000 people in urgent need of assistance, particularly in the provinces of El Oro, Guayas, and Manabí.
“Clean water continues to be one of the most urgent needs in communities affected by the oil spill and floods, “ said the Ecuadorian Red Cross president, Dr. Roque Soria. “Our priority is to ensure that families have access to sufficient quantity and quality water for drinking, cooking, washing and keeping animals and crops alive, especially in rural areas.”
