SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR - Today, Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), visited disaster reconstruction projects in El Salvador and announced $100 million for reconstruction efforts.
USAID has been assisting the people of El Salvador in their efforts to rebuild their country following the devastating earthquakes in January and February of this year. The earthquakes affected about a quarter of the Salvadoran population, destroying or damaging hundreds of thousands of homes and contributing to more than a thousand deaths.
The United States was one of the first international friends on the ground, immediately providing $20.5 million in assistance for emergency relief efforts. In addition, USAID implemented reconstruction activities totaling $67 million in fiscal year 2001 as part of a commitment from President Bush last March. Today, Administrator Natsios announced U.S. Congress plans to provide an additional $100 million in fiscal year 2002.
USAID's Hurricane Mitch reconstruction program, totaling $25 million for El Salvador, was completed in September of this year.
Administrator Natsios is visiting El Salvador to review USAID humanitarian and development efforts. While in El Salvador, Mr. Natsios met with President Francisco Guillermo Flores, and inaugurated 59 low-cost houses in Tepetitian, San Vicente. He also visited Friends of Americas' mobile health clinic in San Cayetano Istepeque and the San Vicente Peace Corps Training Center.
On December 4, Mr. Natsios will travel to Costa Rica to address the Third Summit of the Americas' Disaster Risk Reduction Hemispheric Conference in San Jose.
For more than 40 years USAID has been the lead U.S. Government Agency for humanitarian assistance and economic development.
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