NEW MINISTER ANNOUNCES £200,000 HUMANITARIAN AID GRANT FOR NORTH KOREA
NEW MINISTER ANNOUNCES
£200,000 HUMANITARIAN AID GRANT FOR NORTH KOREA
Ms. Liz O'Donnell T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (with special responsibility for Overseas Development Assistance and Human Rights), on 9 July announced a humanitarian aid grant of £200,000 for North Korea.
"This grant will provide essential assistance to the people of North Korea where levels of malnutrition have deteriorated. We are receiving reports of a population suffering a slow and painful starvation in the last few months", said Minister O'Donnell.
"In 1995 North Korea experienced the worst floods in living memory which affected 5.2 million people. Further flooding occurred in 1996 compounding an already serious food security situation throughout the country. Wide scale deaths from malnutrition have been avoided to date by a relatively even distribution of food. But the situation is nonetheless extremely grave", the Minister continued.
"This extra £200,000 Irish Aid will be channelled through the UN World Food Programme to provide emergency food assistance through food for work schemes, nutritional support for children under six and institutional feeding in hospitals. The aid programme will continue until March 1998 and we are constantly monitoring the situation.
"This grant will bring to £515,000 the total assistance given by Ireland for North Korea via Trócaire and the World Food Programme in the past year", the Minister concluded.Top
