Finland apportions humanitarian aid – Finnish Govt press release/Non-UN document

Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Finland distributed 52.2 million euros in humanitarian aid

By decision of Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted humanitarian aid appropriations for the first part of the year, totalling 52.2 million euros, to people suffering from the world’s crises. Finland’s entire humanitarian aid budget for 2008 totals 63.2 million euros.

The purpose of humanitarian assistance is to save human lives and alleviate human suffering caused by crises stemming from natural disasters or political conflicts. This year, assistance is needed especially by the victims of long-term crises. The humanitarian aid donated by Finland is based on the joint appeal published each year by the UN agencies; this year, the geographical focal point once again is Africa.

The situation in Darfur has remained chaotic; internal refugees constitute a major challenge for both Sudan and Chad. In Somalia, weakened by the prolonged civil war, the population suffers from a lack of staple foods and poor security. Finland considers it necessary to support these countries in particular, in order to alleviate suffering.

Finland’s support to Africa totals 24.8 million euros. In the distribution of aid, priority is given to holistic regional programmes rather than to individual countries, which enables a more flexible response to the need for assistance. The largest regional entities are the Horn of Africa and Eastern Africa, the Great Lakes region of Africa, and Southern Africa. In the Middle East, regional support is granted through UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Major individual targets of support are Afghanistan, Iraq and Myanmar.

The aid granted by Finland encompasses eleven countries, five regional entities and 14 organisations. In distributing aid, Finland primarily supports UN agencies. The largest grant, 16 millions euros in total, is pledged to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies will receive support totalling 6.9 million euros, some of it channelled through the Finnish Red Cross.

In addition, Finnish humanitarian assistance actors that have proved to be reliable and have field experience, such as FinnChurchAid, will also receive support.

Finland gives general support to OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and to CERF, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund. OCHA has a significant role in ensuring the coordination of humanitarian assistance. CERF effectively funds urgent needs for help; for instance, those arising in connection with natural disasters.

Additional information: Ulla-Maija Finskas, Head of the Unit for Humanitarian Assistance, mobile tel. +358 400 431 921, and Eeva Taube, Attaché, Administrative Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 6345