A powerful exhortation not to forget "the generous heroism of the rescue workers who reacted to the accident and the suffering of over 330,000 people, moved from the contaminated regions" was given by the spokesman of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster which is precisely today. A memory that must also include "the risks and the fears experienced by millions of people living in the surroundings; the painstaking, expensive measures taken over the years to reduce people’s exposure to radiation and to mitigate the impact of the accident on health and the environment". "Chernobyl went on the spokesman made us learn many lessons the hard way, including the importance of supplying the public with transparent, timely and reliable information in the event of a catastrophe. The best way to pay tribute to those who suffered because of Chernobyl is by offering generous support to the measures taken to help the devastated communities". The spokesman highlighted that "last year, the UN Forum on Chernobyl, a consortium of eight UN agencies and representatives of the governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, reached scientific consensus on the impact of Chernobyl on health and the environment". Such consensus, he concluded, "also contains a vital message of reassurance for the populations affected by Chernobyl".
