Summary: June 7, 2001 : EUR 14.5 million grant from the Commission for humanitarian aid in Chechnya (Brussels)
The European Commission has approved the sending of €14.5 million in humanitarian aid to victims of the fighting in Chechnya. The package includes emergency food aid, health care and clothing and is principally aimed at displaced persons in Chechnya and Ingushetia. In Chechnya itself special aid measures have been approved for the most vulnerable sections of the population, numbering more than 400 000 persons. With this latest decision, the Commission has now granted a total of €41.5 million
in aid, administered by the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), since fighting began in October 1999, making it the number one donor of humanitarian aid to the region.
Since fighting began in the autumn of 1999, Chechnya and its neighboring republics (Ingushetia and Dagestan) have seen major forced population movements. Estimates show that 170 000 persons have been displaced within Chechnya and approximately the same number in Ingushetia. The victims are still largely dependent on international humanitarian aid. In critical living conditions, the majority of them have limited and difficult access to basic foodstuffs, health care and social
infrastructure.
The operations financed by this decision will allow the UN agencies and ECHO's NGO partners to cover the most urgent needs of the victims. The aid will focus in particular on the distribution of foodstuffs and other non-food products (clothing, blankets, mattresses), supplies of medicines and training for medical staff, improving water supplies and health infrastructure and repairs to housing (only in Chechnya). A study will also be conducted in the region to update data on the aid
beneficiaries.
The security situation in Chechnya remains precarious. ECHO's partner organizations continue to face extremely difficult working conditions, including serious problems with obtaining work permits and access to the UN's VHF radio communication system. Despite repeated representations by the EU at different political levels, very little progress has yet been achieved on either point.
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