WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congress approved an additional $621 Million for USAID reconstruction projects in Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. All supplemental funds are to be expended within two years from today for the general purposes and sectors that are illustrated below.

*All numbers are in millions

Nicaragua: $94.1

Public Health: $25.1
USAID will restore and expand primary health services in small communities and rural areas affected by Hurricane Mitch.

Economic Reactivation: $52.9
USAID will rehabilitate 1,500 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, and utilize food-for-work or cash-for-work programs in implementing these activities. Also, USAID will develop a micro-finance program that will help micro-finance institutions to re-capitalize their loan portfolios, enabling them to extend 11,000 new small loans, especially to women in hurricane-affected areas.

Education: $4.5
USAID will restore services to affected primary school students, 200 temporary/tent primary schools will receive basic supplies and instructional materials needed for operation until students are relocated to permanent facilities.

Disaster Mitigation and Environment: $6.6
USAID will provide training to Government of Nicaragua engineers in the identification of urgencies and the design of other reconstruction efforts, including the packaging of proposals for other donor support.

Local/Municipal Govt. Infrastructure: $4
At the local level, USAID will assist in the repair of basic infrastructure n Mitch-affected municipalities through implementing 20 projects in as many municipalities.

Transparency and Accountability: $1
USAID has earmarked funds to support the honest and effective use of donor money channeled through the Government of Nicaragua.

Honduras: $291

Economic Reactivation: $121.0
USAID will promote policies to reactivate the economy; small and medium agriculture producers and micro-enterprise businesses.

Public Health: $90.0
USAID will repair, rebuild, or rehabilitate rural water supply and sanitation systems.

Permanent Housing: $20.0
USAID will work with local municipalities to ensure that permanent housing solutions

Education: $20.0
USAID will finance the repair and rehabilitation of schools that have been damaged.

Disaster Mitigation and Environment: $32.0
USAID will support municipalities in disaster preparedness plans, develop municipal associations to design and implement management plans for local watersheds, and finance critical disaster mitigation infrastructures.

Local/Municipal Govt. Infrastructure: $3.0
USAID will help municipalities restore local income generation to pre-hurricane levels; modernize their accounting systems for improved accountability.

Transparency and Accountability: $5.0
USAID and other donors will establish an independent oversight function to monitor the hurricane reconstruction program.

El Salvador: $20.5

Public Health: $3.5
USAID will repair and upgrade water distribution systems and latrines in ten communities.

Economic Reactivation: $8.0
This activity is designed to stimulate economic activity in ten communities through the rehabilitation of rural roads, expansion of the electrical distribution grid, and community based infrastructures.

Housing: $2.0
USAID will work with U.S. private voluntary and non-governmental organizations to construct approximately 500 houses to introduce flood resistant housing designs and materials.

Disaster Mitigation/Environment: $4.0
USAID will work with communities and local governments to install critical flood and landslide control measures. Education programs will train communities in disaster preparedness activities.

Education: $3.0
This activity will reconstruct or rehabilitate 80 schools using flood-resistant designs and replace school furniture and supplies that were damaged by the effects of the hurricane.

Dominican Republic: $29.0

Economic Reactivation: $8.0
USAID will increase access by micro-entrepreneurs and small farmers to financial and related services to return to self-reliancy.

Health: $7.5
USAID will reduce health risks caused by the hurricane by increasing access to potable water, rebuilding sanitation systems, providing immunizations, and controlling hurricane related diseases such as malaria and dengue.

Housing and Shelter: $8.5
USAID will repair 2,500 damaged houses and rebuild 2,400 houses that were completely destroyed.

Disaster Mitigation and Environment: $5
USAID will finance soil stabilization activities where erosion threatens infrastructure and agriculture, reduce fire risks by extracting fallen timber and using logs for shelter construction, and strengthen communities' ability to respond to future disasters.

Guatemala: $25

Economic Reactivation: $24
A range of assistance activities will be undertaken to restore and improve agricultural production.

Disaster Mitigation/Environment: $1
USAID will help the community-level action committees, which were formed in response to the hurricane, to improve their preparation to respond to future disasters.

Eastern Caribbean: $3.0

Economic Reactivation: $.45
This project will provide access to necessary credit to restore the productive capacity and self-sufficiency of small farmers and micro-entrepreneurs.

Health: $1.55
The project will address the restoration of the only health care facility on the island by funding the procurement of hospital equipment for hospital wards, assisting with the reconstruction of the hospital and providing psychological counseling for children experiencing post-trauma conditions.

Disaster Mitigation: $1.0
Funds will be used to strengthen the capability of government institutions to implement disaster preparedness activities.

Haiti: $9.8

Public Health: $0.6
This program will help rehabilitate water systems, so water will be safe to drink.

Economic Reactivation: $5.2
These funds will assist in restoring food production through the provision of seeds, high-yielding crop varieties and fertilizer. These funds will assist in restoring food production and rehabilitate infrastructure such as roads, irrigation, and drainage canals.

Environment: $2.8
Funds for protection and improved hillside management and crop management to improve vegetative coverage.

Disaster Mitigation: $1.2
Development of national disaster preparedness and response plan, training materials and workshops, reinforcement of local capacity to maintain infrastructure, and community tool banks.

Colombia: $10

The project will provide permanent shelter to 6,000 of the families in the earthquake zone and rebuilding of ten schools and eight health clinics.

Regional: $131

At current planning levels USAID will provide approximately funds to address the effects of the hurricanes across Central America and the Caribbean. USAID will work with other federal agencies and private sector partners to address: public health needs, reactivate the regional economy, find appropriate housing and schooling solutions, strengthen local governments, support anti-corruption activities and clear land mines.

Operating Costs: $7.5
In addition, funding is included for the operating expenses of USAID ($5.5 million), USAID's Office of Inspector General ($1.5 million), and the General Accounting Office ($0.5 million)