COPENHAGEN (AlertNet) - Weather extremes have hit Bangladesh, Myanmar and Honduras the hardest over the past two decades and will likely have a bigger impact in the future as climate change intensifies storms, floods and heatwaves, a report said on Tuesday.

The three countries experienced the highest combination of deaths and economic losses from 1990 to 2008, according to a new climate risk index by Germanwatch, a non-governmental organisation promoting sustainable development.

Period covered by this narrative Final Report: 3 April to 24 July 2009.

Appeal target: CHF 1,469,778 (USD 1,288,657 or EUR 970,663).

Final Appeal coverage: 83%

Appeal history:

- This Emergency Appeal was initially launched on a preliminary basis on 24 October 2008 for CHF 1,110,911 (USD 1,015,550 or EUR 707,586); for nine months to assist 30,000 beneficiaries.

- CHF 271,000 (USD 247,715 or EUR 172,611) was allocated from the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 20 October 2008 to support the National Societies.

In brief

Programme purpose: National Societies in the Caribbean region are implementing efficient, responsive and focused programmes that contribute to improving the lives of vulnerable people. These programmes are aligned with the International Federation's Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Programmes summary:

The first half of 2009 was characterized

On May 28-29, 2009, CONRED, CEPREDENAC, and the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland, convened a workshop on response and protection in situations of natural disaster in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

The objectives of the workshop were:

- to raise awareness and build support for a human-rights based approach to disaster response at both the regional and national levels;

- to facilitate the integration of human rights in disaster management (risk reduction, preparedness, response,

Houses submerged entirely in floodwaters. Whole villages leveled by winds gusting more than 160 miles per hour. These are often the images that come to mind when we think about the devastation caused by a hurricane in a poor country like Nicaragua.

But the deadliest part of a hurricane is actually something that rarely makes it to the front-page headlines: a water supply contaminated by raw sewage and other pollutants. This water can cause cholera, typhoid and dysentery. These illnesses are often fatal

Summary

The present report on the Central Emergency Response Fund is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 63/139 of 11 December 2008 and covers activities from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.

Hunger in the world is projected to reach an historic high in 2009, with 1.02 billion people going hungry every day-an increase of nearly 100 million people. The United Nations' World Food Programme is working to extend food assistance to 108 million among the poorest people in 74 countries. WFP is deeply concerned by the growing impact of the world's financial crisis on the poorest part of the world, which is causing lower incomes, increased unemployment, lower remittances and higher levels of poverty. This results in less access to food for the most vulnerable people.

It is my pleasure to present to you the 2008 Annual Report for the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

For the millions of people affected by natural disasters and conflict worldwide, 2008 was a year of enormous challenges. More than 211 million people were affected by natural disasters, with more than 238,000 killed and US$200 billion in damages, making 2008 one of the most devastating years in terms of human and material losses. 2008 also