Chad: Netherlands government allocates $ 5.8 million for humanitarian aid

(New York / Geneva / N'Djamena: 18 April 2008):The United Nations has announced today the imminent receipt of donations amounting to $ 5.8 million from the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlandsfor humanitarian projects in Chad, which form part of the international community's efforts to respond to the grave humanitarian crisis in the country.

'The Kingdom of the Netherlands has provided sustained support to our humanitarian work in the last few years', said Eliane Duthoit, acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Chad. 'Amidst increasing humanitarian needs, these contributions will help us in our continued efforts to save lives, especially among the most vulnerable', she added.

The amount is comprised of four donations: $ 2.6 million to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is responsible for all assistance and protection to over 330,000 refugees in the country, as well as for shelter and protection to over 170,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs); $ 1.4 million to the World Food Programme (WFP), responsible for the provision of life-saving food aid and for logistics; $ 1.2 million to the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), which provides education, and water and sanitation assistance, for refugees and IDPs as well as members of the host communities, in addition to working for the protection of all children; and $ 0.7 million for coordination activities managed by the Humanitarian Coordinator and his office, the local Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Taking these donations into account, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is the second largest donor to projects contained in the 2008 Humanitarian Appeal for Chad, presented last December in the context of the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP). The first is the United States of America.

'Given the excellent work done by UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, and OCHA, and the network of non-governmental organizations [NGOs] they are working with, the Netherlands will make available their support in the form of a general contribution to each of the four organizations, as was the case last year. Spending will of course be fully in line with the Humanitarian Appeal for 2008, for both refugees and IDPs', said Norbert W. M. Braakhuis, Netherlands Ambassador to the Republic of Chad.

The 2008 Humanitarian Appeal for Chad, currently funded at only 18%, requests funding for 70 projects, on behalf of 14 NGOs and eight United Nations entities working in the country. 'Most of the projects are for life-saving activities. In eastern Chad, almost half a million people are heavily reliant on humanitarian aid for their survival', said Felix Bamezon, Representative of WFP in the landlocked African nation.

For further information, please contact:

Maurizio Giuliano, Public Information Officer, United Nations, N'Djamena, Email: giuliano@un.org, Tel: +235-6053892

Katy Thiam, Associate Information Officer, United Nations, Abéché, Chad, Email: thiamk@un.org, Tel: +235-6201542

Stephanie Bunker, Spokesperson, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), New York, Email: bunker@un.org, Tel: +1-917-3675126

Elizabeth Byrs, Spokesperson, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Geneva, Email: byrs@un.org, Tel: +41-22-9172653