02 April 2003
USAID Giving $200 Million More for Food Aid to Iraq
(Cash donation will buy food aid in region for quick distribution) (1350) The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced April 2 that it is donating an additional $200 million to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to purchase regional food aid for Iraq. The cash contribution for 324,000 tons of regional food purchases will allow the aid to be positioned for distribution approximately two months sooner than if it were purchased in and shipped from the United States, USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios said. The food will be enough to feed 23 million people for one month, the time it is expected the United Nations will need to get the oil-for-food program operational again in Iraq, Natsios said. The new contribution is in addition to 200,000 tons of wheat that are being released from the Emerson Fund of donated food, including 28,000 tons that is scheduled to leave from Galveston, Texas, April 3, he said. Natsios briefed reporters at the State Department with Arthur Dewey, assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration; Bruce Davis, director-general of the Australian government's aid agency, AusAID; and Christian Turner, first secretary-general for post-conflict and humanitarian affairs at the British Embassy in Washington. Natsios also announced $20 million in grants to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for humanitarian efforts in Iraq. "Our [assistance] plan is a good plan and a plan that is on track," Dewey said. He said the U.S. plan supports the U.N. plan, and he praised the U.N.'s passage of an oil-for-food program resolution March 29. The U.N. security coordinator conducted the first security assessment mission in Iraq April 1, Dewey said. The United States hopes the results of the mission will lead to early reentry of nongovernmental organizations and of U.N. agency expatriate personnel, particularly from the World Food Program and UNICEF (U.N. Children's Fund), which had been working with other U.N. agencies in Iraq for more than a decade, Dewey said. The United States is seeing "pockets of humanitarian need" but not "a massive humanitarian crisis" in Iraq, Natsios said. Nearly all U.S. Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) members are in place in the region, including in Jordan, Cyprus, Qatar and Kuwait City, ready to enter Iraq to do needs assessments and planning as soon as it is safe to do so, he said. Some members were in the British-controlled port city of Umm Qasr on April 1, he said. U.S. assistance personnel are coordinating closely with United Nations relief agencies and international NGOs, Natsios stressed. Internal and external movements of Iraqi people have been "insignificant," Turner said, with the exception of 300,000 people in northern Iraq moving in with families and friends, he said. "So the acute problems that are normally associated with displacement of people have largely been avoided, he said. Australia is providing 100,000 tons of wheat aid that will be shipped to Kuwait City and to Umm Qasr, Davis said. The coalition partner also is positioning technical specialists in the region for eventual entry into Iraq and is coordinating closely with the U.S. and other donors, he said. The British ship Sir Galahad unloaded 231 tons of humanitarian assistance -- food, water, medicine and other supplies -- at Umm Qasr March 30, Turner reported. Dredging of the harbor is needed to accommodate the docking of larger ships, such as those coming from Australia, Natsios said. The United States is in the process of awarding dredging contracts, he said. U.K. mine counter-measures were an important part of clearing the way for the Galahad, Turner said. The U.K. so far has discovered 105 mines in the city's harbor and on Iraqi ships, he said. British funding for humanitarian aid to Iraq to date is 210 million pounds ($330 million), Turner said. The U.K. completed a water pipeline from Kuwait City to the outskirts of Umm Qasr March 31 that is delivering 2 million liters of clean water a day. UNICEF also is trucking water from Kuwait into Iraq, Dewey said. Following are the texts of a USAID press release and humanitarian assistance fact sheet. (begin text) (begin press release) USAID Announces $200 Million in Emergency Food Assistance to Iraq April 2, 2003 WASHINGTON, DC -- Today the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Andrew S. Natsios announced the contribution of an additional $200 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for Iraq. This cash contribution will be used to procure approximately 324,000 metric tons of food, enough to feed 23 million Iraqis for one month. This donation is urgently needed to provide food for the people of Iraq, and will contribute to immediate needs until additional U.S.-donated food arrives and the U.N. Oil-for-Food deliveries resume. On March 28, the U.N. passed a Security Council resolution allowing the resumption of the Oil-for-Food program under U.N. auspices. "This new contribution reinforces the U.S. government's commitment to meeting the humanitarian needs of the people of Iraq through our assistance program," said Administrator Natsios. "We intend to work hard to continue to increase the Iraqi people's access to food and health services." 266,000 metric tons of U.S.-donated wheat, rice, vegetable oil and other commodities is already en route to Iraq, and an additional 400,000 metric tons is available as a contingency option as needed. In total, the U.S. government is providing 590,000 metric tons of food worth approximately $375 million, and $60 million in cash for costs associated with food distribution. (end press release) (begin fact sheet) Food Assistance The U.S. government is acting quickly to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq. The U.S. will provide 610,000 metric tons of food, worth over $300 million, to feed the people of Iraq. In addition, it is providing $200 million in cash to the World Food Program (WFP) for the purchase of food. Emergency Supplies USAID has provided emergency supplies in the region worth a total of $16.3 million. These supplies include wool blankets, plastic sheeting for emergency shelter, personal hygiene kits, emergency health kits; water jugs, bladders and other containers, and water treatment units. Prepositioned in the region. -- 103, 135 blankets -- 45,740 hygiene kits -- 97 World Health Organization (WHO) medical kits -- 7,180 rolls of plastic sheeting -- 63,600 water containers -- 20 water tanks -- two water treatment units In transit to the region -- 161.900 blankets -- 39,878 hygiene kits -- 7,990 plastic sheeting -- 67,100 water containers -- 67 water tanks -- six water treatment units Remaining commodities are on stand-by for call forward. Funding Allocations In addition to the food assistance mentioned above, USAID is spending to date over $246 million on humanitarian relief to Iraq. In addition, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration has spent over $36 million. Of this combined amount, over $124 million is going to the United Nations and other international organizations for pre-positioning and early response, including $60 million to the WFP for planning and logistical support costs and some food pre-positioning. Over $20 million is going to NGOs for humanitarian relief and related programs. Additional assistance is in the pipeline for the U.N. and other international organizations. The breakdown of this $124 million also includes: -- $21 million to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees; -- $10 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross; -- $8.6 million to the International Organization for Migration; -- $3 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; -- $2 million to UNICEF; and -- $1.2 million to the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years. For more information on USAID's humanitarian relief efforts in Iraq, please visit www.usaid.gov/iraq/. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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