MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
Australia will provide an additional $20 million in immediate humanitarian assistance to the crisis-ridden Darfur region of Sudan.
This brings our total contribution to Sudan and neighbouring countries to more than $82 million since May 2004.
Through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) we will contribute $16 million towards food aid and air transport, $2 million for on-the-ground logistics support and $2 million for health projects to support efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Food aid will be sourced and distributed by the World Food Programme, which will also provide critical air support, while Australian Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief (Red-R) will source logistics, communications and operations staff to be placed in existing United Nations programs.
The Australian Red Cross will place Australian health professionals into existing programs in the region. It already has two Australian nutritionists in Darfur's biggest refugee camp in Gereida.
Australia's package of humanitarian assistance to Darfur is in response to the continuing crisis in the region, where four million people are dependent on the international community for their survival and an estimated 500,000 people are living in refugee camps.
The latest assistance is in addition to the $4 million emergency relief package for Sudan and neighbouring countries announced on 19 June.
Australia will continue to monitor humanitarian conditions in Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic and respond to priority needs in conjunction with other donors.
Media contacts:
Malcolm Cole (Minister's Office) 02 6277 7500
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590