Kosovo
Shelter:
Seventy percent of the USAID/OFDA roofing packages were distributed to beneficiaries as of January 5, 2000.
Some 20,700 families (124,000 beneficiaries) have benefited from shelter kit distributions and 9,411 families (56,466 beneficiaries) have benefited from roofing packages to date.
Nearly all 500 roofing packages for the Emergency Response Initiative (ERI) have been delivered to the USAID/OFDA roof depot in Ferizaj (Urosevac).
Health:
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) reported on an assessment by the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) of 15 maternity wards in health houses in Kosovo. The assessment found that none of the wards meet basic accepted reproductive rights standards. Only two of the maternity wards assessed have any heating.
WHO reports that infant mortality in Kosovo averages up to 54 per 1,000 births, compared to an average of 5.6 per 1,000 in the European Union states. There are an estimated 27,000 to 34,000 births in Kosovo per year, an estimated maternal mortality rate of 30 to 40 per 1,000, and an average stay of 3 hours in health houses for mothers who have just given birth.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has distributed 2,000 adult size and 2,000 infant size blankets to hospitals and maternity wards throughout Kosovo to reduce the need for the sharing of beds.
UNMIK has begun distributing 15,000 cubic meters of firewood and 10,000 MT of coal to schools, hospitals, and vulnerable residents in the municipality of Prizren.
Safety:
November was the first month since June in which there were no fatalities in Kosovo caused by mines and unexploded ordinance (UXO). According to ICRC, the UN Mine Action Coordination Center (UNMACC), and WHO, the largest number of mine and UXO accidents occurred in July with 156 accidents and 4 fatalities.
UNMACC has proposed to clear all high priority mined/dangerous areas and cluster bomb sites. In addition, UNMACC hopes to reduce the casualty rate by raising the level of mine/UXO awareness at the community level. UNMACC is also seeking to enhance the existing prosthetic support capability.
Transport/Logistics:
While intermittent slow downs at the border continue to occur, current weather conditions pose the greatest challenge to the delivery of shelter materials into and around Kosovo. The border with Macedonia is now open and traffic is moving smoothly. However, freezing and thawing of roads, as well as congestion caused by snow and ice accumulation, continue to make driving conditions hazardous.
Financial Details
To date, the U.S. Government (USG) has provided more than $465 million in response to the Kosovo crisis since March 1998.
USAID/BHR: $216,293,000
OFDA: $133,227,000
FFP: $70,600,000
OTI: $12,465,665
DOS/Population, Refugees and Migration: $201,237,130
DOD: $47,949,000
TOTAL: $465,479,130