SHKODRA, JANUARY 13, 2010 - In response to the emergency situation created by flooding in northern Albania, the United States Embassy announced today a donation of $50,000 in emergency assistance to flood victims. The funds are being disbursed through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance to the Albanian Red Cross for the purchase and distribution of blankets, food, hygiene kits, and other emergency relief supplies to affected populations to an estimated 5,000 people in northern Albania.

In January, Albania experienced heavy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), provided $50,000 to meet the immediate needs of Albanians affected by the accidental munitions explosions at a military facility near the capital city of Tirana.

On March 15 and 16, a series of explosions at an Albanian military ammunition storage facility in Gerdec, 10 miles southeast of Tirana, killed 21 people and injured 250 others. According to the Government of Albania (GOA), the accidental explosions destroyed or damaged more than 4,000 houses, numerous public buildings, including

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

BACKGROUND AND KEY DEVELOPMENTS

- Extremely hot temperatures and below normal rainfall across southeast Europe from June to August 2007 led to numerous wildfires in nearly every country in the region. Although wildfires are annual occurrences, and the local ecosystems are fire-adapted, the 2007 season was among the worst on record, according to national firefighting authorities and government officials.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing $50,000 for the purchase of fire fighting equipment to assist the Government of Bulgaria in combating recent wildfires.

U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Alexander Karagiannis declared a disaster in Bulgaria on August 1 due to the impact of wildfires in the country. Extremely high temperatures, heavy winds and ongoing dry conditions contributed to the fires and have caused the blazes to spread. Since July 20, as many as 2,000 wildfires have been reported across the

Written Testimony of Kent R. Hill,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia
United States Agency for International Development
Europe & Eurasia Overview
before the Committee on Foreign Relations
United States Senate
March 2, 2004
Introduction

Chairman Allen and other distinguished members of the Committee on Foreign Relations, thank you for the opportunity to testify on U.S. foreign assistance programs in the countries of Europe and Eurasia.

Click on any country name in the map.

The Kosovo refugee crisis was one in a series of human and political catastrophes to affect Albania over the past decade. From a succession of weak governments, to the 1997 collapse of pyramid schemes, to the subsequent rise in crime and instability, Albania continues to be one of the most vulnerable and volatile countries in southeast Europe.

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United States Agency for International Development
Bureau for Humanitarian Response
Office of Transition Initiatives: The Albania Transition Initiative
Tirana, Albania (355-42) 27-016, (355-38) 202-9841

Program Description

Initiated during the Kosovo crisis in May 1999, OTI's Albanian Transition Initiative (ATI) works to promote a sense of hope for the future within Albanian communities. As a first step towards re-building a vibrant civil society, the project has the following objectives:

• demonstrate the power and possibility

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

Kosovo

Security

On September 28, a grenade attack in the village of Bresje, five kilometers west of Pristina, killed three elderly shoppers and injured 46 additional people. As a result, a local Serb group retaliated by forming a human blockade along the main east-west road between Pristina and Peja.

The Serb group demanded more security, an improvement in health care, and better education and employment opportunities