Following is the text of a U.S. Department of State fact sheet released December 7 on U.S. humanitarian aid for the Afghan people in 2000:
(begin fact sheet)
FACT SHEET
U.S. HUMANITARIAN AID TO THE AFGHAN PEOPLE
DECEMBER 2000
-- In response to an emergency appeal from the United Nations World Food Program, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced it will provide an additional 30,000 metric tons of wheat to Afghans affected by the drought. The value of this additional contribution, announced on December 6, is $11.8 million.
-- United States humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, both inside and outside Afghanistan, totals over $113.2 million for the year 2000. The United States is the largest single donor of assistance to Afghans, and has a long record of providing such assistance. This year, United States assistance has been substantially increased in response to growing humanitarian needs in the face of a severe drought.
-- In 1999 the United States contributed over $70 million in assistance to the Afghan people. This year's total of over $113.2 million covers food, housing, health and education programs, de-mining and refugee assistance. Of every two dollars of global assistance to Afghans, half is food aid; and of every ten dollars, nine dollars is a United States contribution.
-- Because the Taliban continued to refuse to hand over indicted terrorist Usama Bin Laden to a place where he can be brought to justice, the United Nations imposed sanctions on the Taliban on November 14, 1999.
-- The sanctions imposed by UNSC Resolution 1267 are carefully targeted to avoid exacerbating the hardships already facing the Afghan people.
-- The sanctions are specific: they target only the aircraft, bank accounts and other financial assets of the Taliban. They do not impede the flow of humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, nor do they prohibit private-sector trade and commerce. The sanctions specifically allow exemptions for flights related to humanitarian emergencies and religious obligations.
-- A summary of this year's United States contributions to humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people follows:
United States Contributions to Humanitarian Assistance for the Afghan People for the year 2000:
$68,875,000 to the World Food Program (WFP) for 165,000 metric tons of wheat for Afghanistan. Of this total, 60,000 metric tons is for WFP's emergency feeding operations for victims of drought in Afghanistan; 75,000 metric tons is for the WFP's Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) for vulnerable populations and households, and returning refugees and displaced persons in Afghanistan. This amount also covers shipping and handling costs.
$14,000,000 from Food For Peace (FFP) for contributions of food (approximately $8.3 million) to the World Food Program's Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) for Afghans inside Afghanistan. Additional contributions of commodities to the Aga Khan Foundation for northern Afghanistan are valued at approximately $5.7 million.
$7,400,000 to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to support UNHCR's protection, care and maintenance activities for Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran, and for UNHCR protection, repatriation, and re-integration activities for Afghan refugees who return to Afghanistan.
(The United States also gave $4.1 million in unearmarked funds to UNHCR's general program for South Asia, a substantial portion of which went to programs for Afghanistan.)
$6,630,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This contribution to the ICRC's Asia and Pacific Appeal supports ICRC's programs for victims of conflict in Afghanistan.
$3,000,000 for demining efforts in Afghanistan, including $1.1 million to HALO Trust (an NGO) for humanitarian demining operations and $1.9 million to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA) for demining equipment and supplies.
$500,000 to the UN for the FY 2000 Afghanistan Emergency Trust Fund.
$6,680,000 from the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) for Afghans inside Afghanistan. During FY 2000, OFDA continued to fund several programs to meet the needs of the vulnerable Afghan populations inside Afghanistan, in the areas of health, water and sanitation, winterization, and technical training. In addition, OFDA provided emergency relief assistance to meet the needs of the drought-affected population throughout the country.
$6,169,053 to various NGOs for humanitarian assistance to Afghan refugees in Pakistan. This assistance includes health, education, income generation, drought relief, emergency food supplies, water and sanitation, and repatriation and reintegration
TOTAL HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE LISTED ABOVE: $113,254,053.00
The information below details the United States contribution of $6,169,053 to NGOs in three categories, (1) Health and Education for Women and Girls, (2) Drought Relief for Refugees, and (3) Repatriation and Reintegration.
1. Health and Education for Women
and Girls - $3,820,632
These contributions to the women and girls' health and education encompass
the following activities:
* Women's Commission for Refugee Women
and Children - $27, 957
This program provides ongoing support for a gender technical advisor in
Peshawar who collects information on Afghan women relevant to relief programming
and advises NGOs on the best means to incorporate gender concerns into
their projects in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
* International Rescue Committee (IRC)
- $1,158,026
U.S. contributions to the IRC encompass the following four activities:
Afghan NGO support - $338,892
This project will fund a series of grants to eight indigenous NGOs to carry
out education, emergency assistance and income generation for Afghan women
and girl refugees.
Girls' Education - $408,307
This program supports expanding opportunities in the Northwest Frontier
Province (NWFP) of Pakistan for girls' education, particularly at the secondary
level.
Female Education /Teacher Training/ Health
Education - $247,029
This ongoing project supports schools with a majority of female enrollment
in refugee camps of the NWFP of Pakistan.
Primary Health Care - $163,798
This project provides health care for refugees in the NWFP of Pakistan.
Sexual Gender Based Violence - $150,177
This program addresses sexual gender based violence among Afghan refugees
in Pakistan.
-- Save the Children: $1,350,210
This project provides support for education, health care and income generation
projects for refugees in Balochistan and Haripur, a micro-credit program
in Quetta, as well as administrative costs of the office in Islamabad.
-- Mercy Corps International (MCI): $458,669
Through this new Capacity-Building Project, MCI works with four indigenous
NGOs working on health and economic opportunity projects with refugees
in Balochistan province in Pakistan.
-- International Medical Corps: $512,498
This ongoing program provides primary health care in refugee camps in the
NWFP and capacity building in Peshawar.
-- Church World Service: $163,095
This ongoing project provides primary health care for refugees in the Mansehra
district of the NWFP, as well as for refugees who have returned from Mansehra
to their places of origin in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.
2. Drought Relief for Refugees
- $750,173
U.S. contributions to drought relief for Afghans include the following
activities:
-- International Rescue Committee (IRC):
$256,268
Drought assistance in NWFP: this program provides grants to increase the
supply of water to Afghan refugees in drought-affected camps in the NWFP
of Pakistan through well-drilling projects.
-- Mercy Corps International: $493,905
Drought assistance in Balochistan: this project provides relief for refugees
in Balochistan by repairing wells, responding to drought-related diseases
and providing emergency food supplies.
3. Repatriation/Reintegration -
$ 1,598,248
U.S. contributions to repatriation and reintegration include the following
activities:
-- International Rescue Committee (IRC):
$905,349
Afghan Rehabilitation Program: This expanding project provides assistance
for targeted voluntary repatriation and reintegration of Afghan refugees
from Iran and the NWFP to Heart, Badghis, Farah, and Ghor Provinces in
Afghanistan.
-- Mercy Corps International (MCI): $692,899
Helmand Reintegration Program: This ongoing program supports targeted repatriation
and reintegration of Afghan refugees from Balochistan Province in Pakistan
to Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
(end fact sheet)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)