Concepcion, Chile (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will meet with Chilean President Michele Bachelet and her successor on Friday, to reassure the earthquake-battered nation of the international commitment to aid.
The 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Saturday, followed by a devastating tsunami. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands were left homeless.
The situation remains critical in the hardest-hit areas, and food, water and the restoring of basic services such as electricity are top priorities, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA).
The Chilean government, which is leading the rescue and relief efforts, has asked the United Nations for specific items -- field hospitals with surgical facilities, dialysis centers, generators, satellite phones, structural damage evaluation systems, saltwater purifying systems, mobile bridges and field kitchens.
Meanwhile, a 24-hour telethon, called "Chile Helps Chile," is slated for Friday. Organizers aim to raise $27 million to help quake victims.
Ban will meet with Bachelet and Sebastian Pinera, who takes office March 11 and has named six officials to lead recovery efforts.
"Our government will not be a government of the earthquake," Pinera said in a speech in which he named the six individuals. "Our government will be a government of reconstruction."
Ban also plans to visit the city of Concepcion, near the epicenter of the quake, to see the devastation
Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/05/chile.earthquake/