By decision of Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted 47.3 million Euros from the early 2010 humanitarian aid appropriations to the victims of crises and natural disasters in the world. The current sum is in addition to the 5.4 million Euros allocated in January for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The total humanitarian aid budget for 2010 is 69.7 million Euros.
Humanitarian needs
The humanitarian aid granted by Finland is based on the joint appeal for needs-oriented assistance published annually by UN agencies, the geographical focal point of which is in Africa. Other targets for the currently allocated appropriations are the severe crises in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.
The complex humanitarian needs in Sudan are due to a large number of refugees from Darfur and the armed conflict in the southern provinces. The troubles in Sudan are rendering the country even more chaotic, as the crisis also impacts the neighbouring countries. The level of humanitarian need in Chad is still high because of the internally displaced persons and the increasing flow of refugees from Sudan and the Central African Republic. 3 million Euros are now allocated to the Horn of Africa and 3.3 million Euros directly to Somalia. Sudan will receive 2.9 million Euros in humanitarian aid.
The aid channels
The aid is mainly channelled through the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR (15 million Euros) and the World Food Programme, WFP (4.2 million Euros). General aid for free allocation by the aid organisations is granted to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA (3 million Euros) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA (3 million Euros). Finland also allocates money to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, CERF, a funding mechanism for immediate response to emergencies.
The International Red Cross receives 6.9 million Euros mainly through the Finnish Red Cross. The amount includes general aid of one million Euros. Other Finnish aid channels include Finnish Church Aid and FIDA International, jointly receiving 3.1 million Euros.
Further information: Ulla-Maija Finskas, Head of the Unit for Humanitarian Assistance, tel. +358 400 431 921, and Markus Ojakoski, Senior Political Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, tel. +358 500 459 009