26 Oct 2009

Red Cross confirms aid is getting to people in Samoa

4:10 pm on 26 October 2009

The Red Cross says it can assure the public its supplies of aid are getting through to those who need it most in tsunami devastated Samoa.

There are claims from Porirua Deputy Mayor Letia Ah Hoi, who has just returned from visiting Samoa's south coast, that some people are not getting Samoan Government-supplied aid on a regular basis.

The Samoan Government says there is no truth to such claims.

But, Kelly Mitchell, of the New Zealand Red Cross, says Red Cross aid goes directly to affected families, and not to village leaders to distribute.

Kelly Mitchell says this is the first report she has heard of aid not getting through.