U.S. provides additional $4 mln for Sudan humanitarian flights
NAIROBI, June 25 (Xinhua) — The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing an additional 4 million U.S. dollars to the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) in Sudan.
The U.S. agency said in a statement received here Wednesday that the contribution brings the total U.S. contribution to UNHAS in Sudan to 7.2 million dollars in fiscal year 2008.
“The UNHAS flights in Sudan provide an important service, as ground transportation is very dangerous due to ongoing violence,” said USAID Administrator Henrietta H. Fore.
“We are working with all necessary parties to ensure continued humanitarian access so the international community can get aid to those in need.”
Early this month, the UN World Food Program said ability of 14,000 aid workers to travel to Darfur and other parts of Sudan will be reduced with immediate effect due to a lack of funding for the Humanitarian Air Service.
WFP said its air service needs an infusion of 20 million dollars by June 15 in order to avoid some of the cuts and maintain full service through the coming months.
The statement said the U.S. contribution, along with timely donations from the UN Common Humanitarian Fund for Sudan and the European Commission, will allow UNHAS to continue operating during the critical period of the upcoming rainy season.
“Further reductions in air service would have impaired the ability of humanitarian organizations to respond to the needs of the people of Sudan,” it said.
“In addition, fewer UNHAS flights would reduce the ability to respond to urgent medical evacuation requests and necessary staff relocations caused by insecurity.”
USAID said the latest UNHAS funding is in addition to the nearly 580 million dollars in emergency assistance provided by the U.S. in fiscal year 2008 to assist those in need in Sudan and Eastern Chad.
The United States is the single largest donor to Sudan, providing half of all humanitarian assistance.
The United States has contributed more than 4 billion dollars inhumanitarian, development, and peacekeeping assistance to Sudan and eastern Chad since 2005.