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Secretary-General's Remarks to Informal Meeting of the General Assembly on the Situation in Syria New York, 20 October 2016 [as delivered] Thank you for convening this important meeting on the situation in Syria. I would like to begin with a few words, if you allow me, Mr. President, to talk about Haiti since I have just returned from a visit to the hurricane zone. On Saturday, I travelled to Les Cayes, which bore the brunt of Hurricane Matthew. I saw utter devastation. People who before had little, now have nothing. No homes. No crops. No livestock and no livelihoods. Access to the hardest hit areas is difficult. People are in desperate need of food, water and shelter. Through my visit, I wanted to shine a global spotlight on their plight. Haiti faces its largest humanitarian disaster since the 2010 earthquake. We have launched a flash appeal for $120 million dollars covering needs for the next 3 months. I thank donors for their initial support. But I must remind the General Assembly that this appeal is only 22 per cent funded. We are in urgent need of additional resources. The hurricane has also greatly complicated another critical challenge – the fight against cholera. Last Friday, the Deputy Secretary-General briefed Member States on our efforts. We are stepping up work to contain cholera and expand access to clean water, sanitation and health systems. We are also developing a proposal for a package of material assistance for those most directly affected by cholera. I will lay out our plan to the General Assembly next month. In the meantime, I appeal again to Member States for the financial support we need on both these tracks to ensure success