26 October 2001

U.S. Disbursement of $18.1 Million for Afghanistan Emergency

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher announced the disbursement of $18.1 million to assist the people of Afghanistan. According to the October 26 announcement, this disbursement is part an overall $320 million aid package for Afghans.

Following is the text of the press statement:

The United States is pleased to announce the disbursement of $18.1 million to assist the people of Afghanistan, part of an overall $320 million aid package announced by President Bush on October 4. This disbursement will bring the total U.S. funding provided since October 1 to the Afghan people to $70.1 million. This total includes $32.6 million from the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), and $38.5 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In Fiscal Year 2001, we provided nearly $180 million in assistance. In the weeks to come, further funding out of the $320 million will be dispensed for the humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan.

Of the $18.1 million provided by the United States, $6.5 million will be administered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), $4 million by the World Food Program (WFP), $3 million by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), $2 million by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), $2 million by the United Nations Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and $600,000 by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The United States believes that humanitarian assistance for refugees, displaced persons, conflict victims, and other persons at risk and the pursuit of solutions for humanitarian crises are a shared international responsibility. We call on other donors to be generous in their response to the humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan.