Brussels, 09/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - Last week, the European Commission adopted three humanitarian aid packages totalling EUR 5.75 million for the victims of 'forgotten' crises in there countries in Asia. “These funds will make a real difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people living in crisis situations in Asia. Although their plight is rarely featured in the media, they have as much right to humanitarian aid as people living in more high profile crises”, said Poul Nielson, Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid.
Nepal (Bhutanese refugees) - EUR 2 million. This will help meet the basic food needs of the 100,000 refugees from Bhutan living in seven camps in the south eastern part of Nepal. Basic rations, purchased on local markets, will be distributed by the World Food Programme via the Nepalese Red Cross. The support includes also the supply of supplementary food items to 3,400 highly vulnerable people (babies, malnourished under-fives, nursing mothers, victims of tuberculosis and infirm elderly people) as well as the provision of fortified meals, served at school to 42,000 pupils. Since 1993, ECHO has provided EUR 9.8 million in humanitarian aid for the Bhutanese refugees.
India - EUR2 million for continued humanitarian assistance for the most vulnerable people affected by the internal conflict in Jammu and Kashmir. The emphasis is on providing primary health care and psychological support to about 100,000 vulnerable people and funding awareness raising about International Humanitarian Law in the armed forces deployed to the region.
East Timor/Indonesia - EUR 1.75 million. East Timor was hit by a two-year drought from 2001 to 2003 resulting in crop failure and malnutrition. While agricultural production seems to have recovered this year, acute malnutrition continues to affect the population in rural areas of the country, particularly in the western districts, where nutritional assessments carried out by CARE International have shown that prevalence of acute malnutrition is above the emergency threshold. In Indonesia, where some 500,000 people remain displaced, internal conflicts continue to affect the capacity of the population of Aceh, Ambon and Central Sulawesi to meet their basic needs. ECHO funds will be used to cover the essential requirements of some 50,000 people affected by conflict in these areas.