H & M Hennes & Mauritz : Flood victims in Peru receive support from H&M Foundation and The Red Cross

'Hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything and need support to rebuild their lives. Due to the severe situation, the H&M Foundation have decided to donate $100,000 to The Red Cross to quickly be able to support in the emergency relief work in Peru', says Diana Amini, Global Manager H&M Foundation.

Since December last year, heavy rains have drenched northern Peru with 10 times more rainfall than normal. It has caused rivers to overflow, landslides, hail and electric storms. Although the impact has been particularly serious in the northern coastal regions, levels of affectation are reported in all 24 of the country's departments. In eleven of the departments a state of emergency has been declared.

To this date over 1.2 million people have been affected, of which one third are children and adolescents. Homes, hospitals, schools and other buildings as well as roads have been destroyed, along with thousands of hectares of crops, which directly impacts access to food. This disaster, which has caused 114 deaths and 18 people who remain missing, continues to disrupt the normal activities of children, adolescents, adults and the elderly in the affected regions.

While 59 schools have collapsed and 113 cannot be used, another 2,150 have been damaged. A combined total of 770 health centers has been damaged, collapsed or cannot be used. In addition to health needs, livelihoods and food security issues are challenges.

The support from the H&M Foundation of $100,000 will be used for disaster relief activities undertaken by the Red Cross. Since the response from donors have been very low, the focus is on emergency actions. The emergency phase actions aim to ensure that the targeted population receives appropriate assistance with a focus on the sectors of health, water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, shelter, food security, livelihoods and restoring family links.

'The people of Northern Peru are experiencing the worst disaster in decades. Therefore, all the good forces must unite and help the children, women and men affected by this. Our immediate response efforts in Peru will focus on water, sanitation and hygiene', says Melker Måbeck, International Director The Swedish Red Cross.

Media contacts

Diana Amini
Global Manager, H&M Foundation
diana.amini@hmfoundation.com
+46 (0)729 804 802
hmfoundation.com

Cecilia Sobocki
Press Secretary
cecilia.sobocki@redcross.se
+46 (0)727 414 802

About The Red Cross

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian network that reaches 150 million people in 190 National Societies through the work of over 17 million volunteers. Together, we act before, during and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people. We do so without discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.

About H&M Foundation

The H&M Foundation is a non-profit global foundation, privately funded by the Stefan Persson family, founders and main owners of H&M. Its mission is to drive long lasting positive change and improve living conditions by investing in people, communities and innovative ideas. Through partnerships with organizations around the globe, the H&M Foundation drives change within four focus areas; Education, Water, Equality and Planet. In addition to this, the Foundation can also provide emergency relief. Since 2013, the Stefan Persson family has donated 1.1 billion Swedish kronor (USD 154 million/EUR 123 million) to the Foundation. For more information, visit hmfoundation.com.