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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-43202001-100
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2001Contact: USAID Press Office
Washington, D.C. -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has approved grants with three non-governmental organizations to provide an additional $9 million in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction to Afghanistan.
USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has approved a $3,583,330 grant to CARE for water/sanitation, agricultural rehabilitation and shelter activities. The water component, valued at $355,005, includes pumping of potable water and delivery of house-to-house health education to approximately 59,000 people in Kabul. The agriculture component, valued at $909,922, supports a work program to rehabilitate critical farming facilities in Ghazni and Wardak provinces for 100,000 people. The shelter program provides $2,318,403 for food and short-term work opportunities to some 75,000 people in Zabul, Khandahar, Farah, Nangahar and Laghman, as well as reconstruction of nearly 5,000 homes in Kabul province.
"In order for Afghanistan to recover from years of war, repression, drought and famine, we must begin with spot reconstruction efforts now, while at the same time discussing longer-term reconstruction plans. These small-scale projects will lay the groundwork so the people of Afghanistan can begin the hard work of rebuilding their futures," said Natsios.
The water program will provide safe drinking water to 42,200 families in Kabul, including 4,200 displaced families. Functioning water systems are critical to provide water to households and to prevent the incidence of water-borne diseases such as cholera and other health problems associated with poor sanitation facilities. Another component of the water project will conduct health education for families in Kabul. The education program will employ 23 female health workers based at three health clinics. Programs will emphasize several health principles such as how to store water to prevent contamination; safe water practices such as separating potable and non-potable water; sterilization practices; early recognition of water-born diseases such as diarrhea; and mother and child health issues. The agriculture component supports a work program to rehabilitate critical farming facilities in Ghazni and Wardak provinces, with particular attention to damaged or inadequate irrigation systems. The program will benefit 100,000 people. The shelter program will provide food and short-term work opportunities to some 75,000 people in Kabul, Khandahar, Farah, Nangahar and Laghman, as well as reconstruction of nearly 5,000 homes in the Kabul Province.
USAID recently provided an additional $2 million to the World Food Program (WFP) to support the logistics requirements of its current food aid distribution program. The grant supplements $13.5 million previously granted to the WFP's Afghanistan operation for food commodities and food transport equipment. The current installment will primarily support road transport equipment such as snow clearing trucks. Assessments of the road networks in Afghanistan show that access to vulnerable populations will be severely restricted by the expected snowfall. USAID considers this immediate transport assistance to be a critical piece of the U.S. governments humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan.
The International Medical Corps (IMC) received $3,500,000 from USAID to implement primary health care activities in Bamiyan, Wardak, and Parwan provinces in central Afghanistan, including emergency primary health care, maternal and child health care, obstetric care, and supplementary feeding activities. The IMC health project will benefit 320,000 people.
In FY 2002, USAID has contributed $101,613,104 in emergency assistance to Afghanistan. To date, the United States Government has provided $183,270,873 in humanitarian assistance to Central Asia in response to the Afghan crisis.
The United States Agency for International Development is the U.S. government agency that has provided development and humanitarian assistance worldwide for 40 years.
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