EMERGENCY AID SPENDING TO EXCEED £10 MILLION FOR 1997
EMERGENCY AID SPENDING TO EXCEED £10 MILLION FOR 1997
Minister Liz O'Donnell, who has responsibility for the Irish Aid programme, has approved emergency aid grants of £218,000 for Burundi and the Sudan. This means that total Irish Aid spending on emergency and humanitarian assistance for 1997 will exceed £10m. The total Irish Aid budget for 1997 is £122 million and will rise to £137 million in 1998. Each year a portion of Irish Aid's resources is set aside for use in responding to urgent humanitarian needs in developing countries.
The Burundi grant (£110,000) is designed to meet the needs of refugees there. ‘People returning to their homes from camps for the displaced are among the most vulnerable in Burundi, and urgently need support towards agricultural recovery and emergency health care', the Minister said. ‘This grant will provide basic medical equipment and local training for Ministry of Health staff in Burundi. This brings our support for emergency programmes in Burundi to around £400,000 this year'.
The allocation for the Sudan (£118,000) will help fund UNICEF activities in Northern Sudan and Trócaire's work with vulnerable and displaced Sudanese in Central Sudan. ‘The emphasis will be on local, basic, practical needs - such as the provision of blankets, plastic sheeting and mosquito netting', Ms O'Donnell said.
