U.S. ambassador and RPCV Tony Hall announces a new ‘non-food’ contribution to the emergency in Ethiopia
STATEMENT BY U.S. AMBASSADOR TONY HALL
and
USAID ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR ROGER WINTER
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
February 19, 2003
Today, we are pleased to announce a new ‘non-food’ contribution to the emergency in Ethiopia, worth US$ 7.2 million. The assistance will be used for water and sanitation, seeds and agriculture rehabilitation, and primary health care and nutrition.
We are also announcing an additional food contribution of 27,000 MT, valued at approximately US$ 12.2 million for the NGO consortia emergency program.
This additional contribution will increase the recent U.S. pledge, made by USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, to 289,000 MT, valued at approximately US$130 million.
Since the beginning of the food emergency, the people of the United States have provided more than 508,000 metric tons of food for the drought-affected people of Ethiopia.
The people of the United States are very concerned about the impact of the current drought, and will continue to work with the Government of Ethiopia to try to avert a catastrophe, particularly as the flow of food aid is threatened and expected to experience gaps as early as April.
The USG has provided more than $2.26 billion in development and food aid to Ethiopia since 1981, and $1.8 billion since resuming a full program in 1991-92.
In 2002 alone, the United States Agency for International Development and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) provided more than US$ 18 million of funding for HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment in Ethiopia.
