United States Providing Additional $900,000 in Humanitarian Assistance to Boost Response Efforts to Timor-Leste Floods

DILI, Timor-Leste - The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing $900,000 in additional assistance to save lives, meet urgent humanitarian needs, and help affected people recover from the devastating floods in Timor-Leste.  Heavy rains and strong winds associated with Tropical Cyclone Seroja lashed Timor-Leste's capital Dili and eight municipalities in April, causing extensive flooding and landslides resulting in dozens of deaths, destroyed crops, and thousands of evacuations.

This new funding builds on USAID’s initial support of $100,000 for urgent relief supplies provided in the initial days after the storm, bringing USAID’s total U.S. humanitarian assistance to the people of Timor-Leste in response to the floods to $1 million dollars.

The additional $900,000 in assistance announced today will support the Timorese people, through USAID partner World Vision, by providing access to seeds and tools for farmers to replant staple crops destroyed by the flooding.  USAID’s support will also improve the production of vegetables and staple crops like maize and rice to increase household income and food security for more than 15,000 people.

“As part of our strong partnership with Timor-Leste, we are pleased to extend this additional assistance from the American people to farmers in the wake of this year’s devastating flooding,” said U.S. Ambassador Kevin Blackstone.  “This support will help farming communities once again be able to plant and harvest their crops that help feed the Timorese people.”

USAID Overview:  The United States government, through USAID, works in partnership with the government of Timor-Leste to support broad-based and effective development.  Since 2001, USAID has provided nearly $350 million in development assistance to Timor-Leste.  USAID supports Timor-Leste in its efforts to build a more prosperous, healthy, and democratic country.  USAID does this by supporting programs that foster inclusive and sustainable economic growth, especially in the agriculture and tourism sectors; improve the health of the Timorese people, particularly women and children; and strengthen the foundations of good governance – all areas that are highlighted in Timor-Leste’s Strategic Development Plan 2013-2030 and will serve to make the country more self-reliant to better address their own development challenges.