MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
I am pleased to announce that Australia will provide $1 million in humanitarian relief to the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya where some 400 000 people face starvation due to the continuing drought.
Australia will provide $500 000 in response to a United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (UNDHA) appeal and a further $500 000 to an international appeal by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
An UN disaster assessment team which recently visited the worst affected areas found Irian Jaya is on the verge of famine. Smoke from forest fires is severely restricting flights carrying food into the affected regions. The UNDAC team also reported that local water supplies are drying out and the little water left is polluted resulting in more people suffering diarrhoea, scabies and respiratory tract infections.
UNDHA will use Australia's contribution to transport food, medicine and other relief supplies and personnel from the district capital of Wamena to the isolated villages.
Australia's contribution to the ICRC will help to fund a comprehensive relief package consisting of food, medical assistance and agricultural measures to help replant village gardens. Medical experts will join the ICRC's relief mission to monitor the continuing health crisis. The ICRC's relief efforts will run for six months, focusing firstly on the most affected areas in the Mimika and Jayawijaya regions. Later the ICRC will extend the relief to the Merauke region, bordering Papua New Guinea.
This new pledge brings total Australian assistance to Indonesia for the forest fire and drought crisis to $3 million, including an earlier contribution to World Vision of $300,000 for relief assistance to three of the most critical villages. Australia is closely monitoring the effects of the drought and will continue to assess the need for further assistance.
Media contacts:
Innes Willox (Minister's Office) 02 6277 7500 / 0411 414 695
Michelle Hardy (AusAID) 02 6206 4968