The United Nations has raised US$74 million in relief assistance for quake-hit Iran and the world body is planning to appeal for more urgent humanitarian aid for the country.  

Jan Egeland, who heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), is on his way to the quake-devastated Bam area of Iran to help launch an urgent appeal for assistance, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters on Monday.

The money will cover urgent needs over the next three months, including temporary shelter, food, water and sanitation as well as health care and schooling.

The earthquake, registering 6.3 on the Richter scale, hit the area around Bam on Dec. 26. It left more than 30,000 people dead.

To date, more than US$74 million has been pledged for continuing relief efforts in Bam, Eckhard said, adding that UN and other humanitarian officials are already in the area to assess the most immediate needs.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2004)