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47 million euros in humanitarian aid granted for the world's crises

Press release 135/2009

By decision of Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted humanitarian aid appropriations for the first part of the year, totalling 47 million euros, to people suffering from the world's crises. Finland's entire humanitarian aid budget for the present year totals 73 million euros.

The purpose of humanitarian aid is to save human lives and alleviate human suffering in crisis situations. The humanitarian aid donated by Finland is based on the joint appeal published each year by the UN agencies; this year, the geographical focal point once again is Africa.

The refugee situation caused by the crisis in Darfur, Sudan is ongoing. The chaos in Somalia has not been brought under control. In all, more than 9 million euros will be targeted at these needs and the entire region of the Horn of Africa. Ten million euros will be directed to the Democratic Republic of Congo and the surrounding Central Africa and 1.6 million euros to Zimbabwe. Sites of aid outside Africa are Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The occupied Palestinian Territories were granted the sum of 4.5 million euros at the start of the year.

The major channels of aid are the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (15 million euros) and the WFP, the World Food Programme (6.1 million euros). Finland gives general support to OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and to CERF, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund. OCHA has a significant role in realizing the international coordination of assistance. CERF, which will receive 6 million euros, funds urgent first aid need arising, for instance, from natural disasters.

The International Red Cross will receive 8.4 million euros in support, mostly through the Finnish Red Cross. This support will be used both for sites in Africa and to strengthen the coordination of Red Cross aid. Other channels of Finnish aid are Finn Church Aid and Fida International, which together will receive 3.2 million euros.

Additional information: Ulla-Maija Finskas, Head of the Unit for Humanitarian Assistance, mobile tel. +358 400 431 921 , Counsellor Timo Karmakallio, mobile tel. +358 40 727 5487, and Eeva Taube, Attaché, Administrative Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 6345