The Kenya Red Cross Society announced that it has revised the death toll up from the official number of 486 to 575, and said that this figure is expected to rise further as more bodies are discovered.

Violence erupted in the Eastern African nation late last month after President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the election, and opposition leader Raila Odinga disputed the results.

The country's government has identified urgent needs including security, food, water, sanitation facilities and medicine for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the capital Nairobi, the western region of the country and elsewhere.

In Eldoret, it found that family kits, dignity kits with sanitary materials for women, and tents were needed, and said that psychosocial assistance and protection against gender-based violence is necessary.

The agency said that in Nakuru, the displaced living in religious sites are in need of medical assistance, food, blankets, mattresses, clothing and other basic necessities.

In Molo, some 2,000 IDPs lack shelter, water and sanitation. In Rongai, many of those who have fled their homes are sleeping outside without blankets and shelter, and UNHCR warned that sanitation conditions are poor and require immediate attention as the nearby river is the area's only water source.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the heath concerns pertaining to the Kenyan crisis, such as emergency care for the wounded, essential health care for displaced populations, the need for health workers and medical supplies, surveillance of epidemic diseases, reproductive health, and water quality control.

WHO also said that at a regional level, it foresees the possibility of fuel shortages for humanitarian operations.

Although the UN is an "extremely risk-exposed organization" with its staff working in exceptional circumstances, such as conflict and natural catastrophes, she stressed that "there is no excuse for having poor internal control mechanisms and for tolerating mismanagement" because "we are handling public money and considerable funds and should care about that as if it was our own money."

In January 2006, the OIOS Procurement Task Force (PTF) was set up in response to the release of the 2005 Oil-for-Food report, which found both misadministration and evidence of corruption.

The PTF, whose funding has been extended by the General Assembly until the end of this year, was created specifically to tackle challenges faced by the UN. It was established within OIOS so that its independence can be safeguarded under the resolution creating OIOS which grants the body operational independence, Ms. Ahlenius said.

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