EU humanitarian aid for the Northern Caucasus

The European Commission is providing additional humanitarian aid worth €4.5 million to assist the victims of the Chechnya conflict until the end of the year. The funds will cover the most pressing needs of people affected by the fighting both in Chechnya itself and in the neighboring republics. Internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees, children and other vulnerable population groups will benefit from the assistance. The funding will be channeled through the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), which comes under the responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson. With this new allocation, the overall amount provided by the Commission to the victims of the Chechnya conflict since the beginning of the current crisis in September 1999 amounts to over €65 million, making the EC the largest donor in the region.

The focus will be on providing food, medical assistance, non-food support and shelter. Food aid will be targeted at an estimated 170,000 IDPs in Chechnya including the vulnerable population of the south, and up to 13,800 young children and other IDPs in Ingushetia. Medical assistance will be supplied through selected health care institutions in Chechnya which will receive medical equipment and medicines and provide surgical services to IDPs and returnees. Mobile clinics and medical centers in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Daghestan will deliver primary health care to some 50,000 IDPs living in camps and settlements. Non-food items (hygiene and bedding items, children's clothing) will be distributed to 15,000 IDP families, 10,000 children and 30,000 young IDPs in Ingushetia. Psycho-social support and skill-training activities will help children and young adults to cope with their displacement. Living conditions for IDPs in Ingushetia will also be improved through a programme to replace damaged tents.

The Commission has made these new funds available to maintain its efforts to alleviate the suffering of the resident population and IDPs in the Northern Caucasus. The beginning of this year saw a new upsurge in fighting and the current security situation makes its unlikely that a large number of IDPs will return home in the near future. Furthermore, problems of access remain and it is still not possible to deliver humanitarian assistance to Chechnya in accordance with the standard principles of independent aid operations.

| Arriba |