US to Provide $25m in New Aid

The United States government will provide a new aid of $25 million to address the dire humanitarian situation faced by displaced communities in Rakhine, Kachin, and the country’s Southeast regions, the US embassy in Yangon said.  
The announcement follows a joint diplomatic mission undertaken by delegations from the US, Switzerland and the UK to Rakhine state on 11-12 November, and US mission visits to Kachin state on 24-26 October and to Karen and Mon State on 1-3 November, to witness the political and humanitarian situation there.
This assistance responds to ongoing humanitarian emergencies in Rakhine and Kachin and longstanding displacement in the Southeast region, including southern Shan, Karen, Kayah and Mon states.
In Rakhine state, this funding will support priorities such as sustainable access to food, safe drinking water, and improved sanitation and hygiene, a US embassy statement said.
Inter-communal conflict in Rakhine state flared up in June 2012 and surged again in October, displacing an estimated 115,000 people, most of whom are Rohingya Muslims.
The funding will also provide nutritional supplements to feed infants and young children, help manage acute malnutrition, and improve drainage systems to minimise health and flood risks for
internally displaced person, the statement added.
In Kachin state, funds will support construction of shelters and rebuilding of homes, provision of food, and water, sanitation and hygiene, and nutritional supplements for the displaced.
In the Southeast region, these funds will assist internally displaced and returning communities to create livelihoods, strengthen ongoing community-based programs, and prepare conditions for sustainable voluntary repatriation.
The US government is providing this assistance in coordination and collaboration with the Union government and the international donor community.
These support funds have been provided to a range of international NGOs and UN agencies.
The statement said the US government and its partners look forward to working jointly with the Union government and local communities to continue to meet life-saving needs and achieve lasting solutions for the country’s displaced persons.
Earlier, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has extended $7.28 million in emergency aid to victims of violence in Rakhine state as of January this year since June 2012.