Minister De Gucht frees up over 2 million EUR for hurricane victims in Haiti and Cuba following a reassessment of needs

Minister De Gucht frees up over 2 million EUR for hurricane victims in
Haiti and Cuba following a reassessment of needs

In late August and early September, hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and
Ike battered the Caribbean islands, leaving a trail of destruction in
their wake. Haiti and Cuba were particularly badly hit by the storms,
which caused several billion euro worth of damage. Infrastructure
sustained heavy damage, but harvests too were destroyed, triggering food
shortages. On top of this, 10% of Haiti¿s population currently depends
on humanitarian aid to survive.

The Minister has decided to assign various NGOs a total of 2,041,900
EUR, to be spent on emergency aid for hurricane victims.

In Haiti, 1,391,900 EUR will go on support for the agricultural sector
(Oxfam Solidarity), buying and distributing emergency relief supplies
(Flemish Red Cross), emergency medical and food aid (Médecins sans
Frontières) and rehabilitation of drinking water facilities (Protos).

Cuba will receive support totalling 650,000 EUR, which will be used to
buy and distribute emergency supplies (Oxfam Solidarity ¿ Handicap
International) and to support family agriculture (FOS ¿ Socialist
Solidarity).

http://www.diplomatie.be/en/press/homedetails.asp?TEXTID=92560