Europese Commissie maakt 16,5 miljoen euro noodhulp vrij voor Tsjetsjenië (en)
The European Commission has approved a €16.5 million humanitarian aid package to support victims of the ongoing conflict in Chechnya. The recipients will include internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable groups in central and southern Chechnya as well as IDPs in Ingushetia and Daghestan. Funds are being allocated via the Humanitarian Aid Office, ECHO, a service of the European Commission under the responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson. Assistance to vulnerable groups will be provided in the following sectors: food and non-food items, medical support, shelter and water/sanitation, education, psychological assistance, mine awareness and protection. Programmes will be implemented by international agencies operating in the region. Since the beginning of the current crisis in autumn 1999, ECHO has allocated approximately €120 million to the victims, making the EU the largest donor in the region.
Widespread physical and psychological trauma has resulted from the conflict in Chechnya. Some 60,000 people are still displaced in neighbouring Ingushetia as well as about 10,000 in Daghestan. In addition, the conflict has caused the internal displacement of approximately 150,000 people within Chechnya. Four and a half years after the beginning of the second conflict, humanitarian needs remain acute. The main needs continue to be linked to the living conditions of the people, 10% of whom are extremely poor and half of whom are economically vulnerable.
There are needs in all sectors and this new financial support will cover the provision of:
Food and non food items: basic and supplementary food will be supplied to the 500,000 most vulnerable people in the three republics, mostly in Chechnya. Non food items such as clothes, bed items, household items will be distributed to some 10,000 households while several thousands children will receive new clothing.
Health assistance: specific primary health care will be provided to mothers and children. Funding is also going to support surgery, traumatology and rehabilitation services for the war-wounded and disabled.
Water and sanitation: activities in this area include ensuring that the population of Grozny (estimated at 100,000) has access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation. There is also funding to give the 70,000 IDPs in Ingushetia and Daghestan access to decent water/sanitation facilities
Shelter programmes: aid will be given to the most vulnerable in Ingushetia who are in acute need of alternative shelter (the number of rooms constructed will depend on authorisations given by local authorities and may reach 150).
Education and psychosocial aid: the funding will help create child-friendly spaces and provide basic and vocational education, as well as psychological assistance and mine-awareness training.
The decision will also fund protection and legal aid programmes for the population in the three republics.
Since the beginning of the current crisis, in 1999, approximately 120 million euros have been allocated, through ECHO, to operations in favour of the victims of the Chechnya conflict, making the EC the largest donor in the area.
More information on ECHO activities can be found at the following web site: