Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
INTERNATIONAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE
The International Disaster Assistance program of the United States provides relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance to victims of natural and man-made disasters. The FY 1998 funding request is $190 million, the same level as FY 1997. These resources will be used to respond to emergency relief needs and for disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness activities. They will also finance activities of the Transition Initiative, begun in 1994, which focuses on the special needs of countries emerging from crises caused by political and ethnic conflict.
FY 1998 Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $190,000,000 First priority in utilizing International Disaster Assistance resources will be given to life-saving, emergency assistance. Consistent with the need to respond to this priority and following actual enactment of funding, USAID hopes to be able to modestly expand funding for the Transition Initiative while also meeting emergency needs.
The number and intensity of disasters have been rising. Complex emergencies--those involving political and military conflict--are a major contributor to these trends. Although these conflicts fluctuate in intensity, their resolution is very difficult, and relief assistance can be necessary to meet emergency needs of civilian populations for long periods. For this reason, USAID is placing increased emphasis on applying preparedness and mitigation lessons learned from natural disasters to complex disasters. Over 50% of assistance to complex emergencies goes to African countries. Large populations in Africa's Great Lakes region, Angola, Bosnia, Liberia, Somalia and Sudan continue to require assistance to survive.
Parallel to increases in the number of persons affected by complex emergencies, rapid population growth, coupled with inadequate infrastructure support systems in many developing countries, increases the number of people vulnerable to natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanoes. Urban areas are expanding, with unsafe habitation in many shanty areas and slums. Population pressures also force people to move onto marginally viable and unsafe lands where natural hazards, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes, and their side effects, such as flooding and mudslides, have disastrous impact.
In addition to the continued challenge of responding to the growing needs of complex and natural disasters, USAID has a new responsibility of responding to nuclear, biological and chemical disasters in developing countries. As a result, USAID is developing a new response capability and incident command system in this field of emerging threats.
There are three important principles that guide USAID's humanitarian assistance:
First, emergency response, which focuses on saving lives and reducing suffering, can simultaneously assist the return to sustainable development by supporting local capabilities, providing safety nets, and strengthening human capacity. Programs in maternal and child feeding, emergency health care and shelter provision can be administered in ways that contribute to the regeneration of communities and to regional stabilization. The provision of agriculture seeds, along with relief food, to disaster victims in farming areas enables these agricultural producers to return to self-sufficiency. Medical emergency programs, which draw on local medical staff and encourage on-the-job training, when feasible, are more likely to reduce the need for external resources in the future.
A second principle is that prevention and mitigation of the effects of disasters must be built into response programs. Prevention requires strengthening local response capacities. Disaster preparedness requires careful examination of relief and recovery planning. USAID's field missions play an important role in helping government, municipal, and community leaders to prepare for disasters and to design development projects that fully reflect the risk from disasters. One of USAID's most successful disaster preparedness initiatives is the volcano disaster assistance program, conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey. This early warning system has prompted evacuations of threatened populations before eruptions, saving hundreds of thousands of lives.
A third guiding principle is that timely, effective assistance to countries emerging from crises can make the difference between a successful or failed transition. Countries experiencing a significant political transition, national conflict, or a major national disaster, such as a prolonged drought, may have special needs which are not addressed by traditional disaster response. Nor do these countries generally have the infrastructure that allows the resumption of long-term programs of sustainable development. The Transition Initiative responds to needs in this "gray area" between relief and development, funding programs, for example, in the reintegration of dislocated populations, including demobilized soldiers, and the creation and revitalization of democratic and civic institutions.
Effective humanitarian assistance requires that the USAID relief, mitigation, transition and development programs support each other, as described above. In addition, USAID must also collaborate closely with other assistance providers in the international community. This is particularly important both to coordinate programs and to share the burden of relief costs. U.S. private voluntary organizations (PVOs) are critically important partners and play an essential role in raising resources, providing assistance, and implementing programs. USAID's partnerships with U.S. PVOs and nongovernmental organizations, United Nations agencies and other donors include support for mechanisms to facilitate the exchange of information among international partners and to prevent duplicative efforts.
Pursuant to section 493 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, the President has designated the USAID Administrator as his Special Coordinator for Disaster Assistance. USAID has a well-established management structure and disaster relief expertise which draw on public and private sector resources to enable a response within 24 to 72 hours after a disaster. USAID fields assessment teams to identify needs, and provides disaster assistance response teams (DARTs) to facilitate communication and organize a response. USAID also provides communication support equipment, search and rescue groups, medical assistance, shelter, food and potable water.
In 1996, USAID responded to 22 floods, 3 epidemics, 3 cyclones, 6 earthquakes, 2 droughts, 3 typhoons, 2 tornados, 2 winter emergencies, a fire, a mudslide, a terrorist attack and a volcanic eruption in countries around the globe. USAID is responding to numerous complex emergencies as well, such as those in Sudan, Rwanda and Bosnia-Hercegovina. In Bosnia-Hercegovina, USAID has a long-standing DART in the region. World Health Organization surveys show that USAID programs there have contributed to the avoidance of widespread hunger through targeted food aid and support for local coping mechanisms.
USAID works closely with the Departments of State and Defense to coordinate American relief efforts. For urgent disaster situations, 24-hour coverage is provided by staff to ensure the transmission of accurate information across different agencies, and between the disaster area and important response centers. Satellite communication equipment augments USAID's ability to carefully target emergency assistance and to coordinate with donors and other U.S. Government and nongovernmental agencies. Cost-effectiveness and timeliness are important benchmarks of USAID humanitarian assistance.
Complex disasters, which generally involve a combination of factors including political and military strife and a breakdown of governance and social infrastructures, often require prolonged provision of relief assistance to affected populations. In these circumstances, USAID seeks to support interventions which encourage local participation and self-sufficiency. The Greater Horn of Africa region, comprised of Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, is a particularly disaster-prone area, drawing over 50% of U.S. emergency funds to Africa. The United States has focused on this region with the Greater Horn of Africa Initiative which includes collaboration with other donors and African leaders and institutions. Under this initiative, USAID is working to integrate its humanitarian assistance and development strategies in order to more effectively link relief and development and better promote food security.
The increase in complex and prolonged disasters has led to other innovative strategy changes. The Transition Initiative provides a mechanism to rapidly assess and address short-term political and economic needs in the important recovery stage. Key areas for the Transition Initiative include the demobilization and reintegration of soldiers, electoral preparations and governance, and civil infrastructure. The transition program in Haiti promotes stability through demobilization, emphasizing skills development for ex-military personnel, and through efforts to create and strengthen civil governance structures. Demobilization and land mine awareness and removal are important elements of the transition program in Angola where militarization continues to represent a threat to a stable recovery. In Bosnia-Hercegovina and Rwanda, transition programs are working with local communities to reduce ethnic conflicts. These interventions are fundamental to the successful recovery of these countries from man-made and natural crises.
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