Press
Release
With $7.8 Million Donation, Japan Provides
Major Boost to UNICEF Relief Efforts for Afghan Children
NEW YORK, 16 November 2001 - The Government
of Japan has donated $7.84 million to UNICEF's relief
efforts for the children of Afghanistan, the agency announced
today, the largest emergency contribution UNICEF has ever
received from Japan and the largest it has received from
any source for its $36 million appeal for Afghan relief.
The Japanese contribution, approved Friday
16 November, constitutes 22% of UNICEF's emergency appeal.
As winter arrives, the contribution will provide urgently
needed relief supplies to the most vulnerable children
and women inside Afghanistan, as well as to Afghan refugees
in neighbouring countries.
Among other things, the gift will provide
for the delivery of warm winter clothing for children
and pregnant women, blankets, supplementary food for malnourished
children, essential medicines, shelter materials, and
safe water. To date UNICEF has nearly 50 relief convoys
into Afghanistan.
Some 5 million Afghans are relying on outside
assistance to survive, and UNICEF estimates that as many
as 100,000 children could perish this winter if relief
convoys are halted for any reason. Afghanistan has suffered
from more than 20 years of war and nearly four years of
severe drought.
"UNICEF is very grateful for this generous
gift from the government and people of Japan, and I warmly
thank them for this bold step," said Carol Bellamy,
Executive Director of UNICEF. "The children of Afghanistan
desperately need our support, and this contribution will
go a long way toward helping them survive the winter.
Every day is crucial now, every dollar is needed."
Japan has made a major commitment to the
overall United Nations relief effort, committing as much
as $120 million to the UN flash appeal issued last month
for some $600 million, mostly for the provision of food.
UNICEF is taking the lead in the delivery of specialized
food for malnourished children, as well as the provision
of medicine and medical supplies.
UNICEF relief convoys continue to enter
Afghanistan every day, a challenging logistical effort
made possible by the generous and continuing support of
people and governments around the world. With the large
Japanese contribution, UNICEF's initial $36 million appeal
for stop-gap relief efforts is funded. As it continues
to work on short-term child survival, UNICEF will also
begin to assess the contributions it must make to the
medium-term processes of recovery and stabilization.
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For further information, please contact:Alfred
Ironside, UNICEF Media, New York
e-mail aironside@unicef.org tel: (1-212) 326-7261
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