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22 August 2008
USAID Sends $10.7 Million in Humanitarian Assistance to Georgia
Updated fact sheet on U.S. humanitarian assistance to the people of Georgia
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U.S. Agency for International Development
August 21, 2008
Fact Sheet
USAID Provides Humanitarian Assistance to the People of Georgia
• Human rights organizations have cautioned that the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the recent armed conflict in Georgia poses a security risk to area residents. The Government of the Russian Federation (GoRF) reports that de-mining teams have cleared 738 UXOs in South Ossetia, Georgia, to date. In addition, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Halo Trust has dispatched seven teams to survey the approximate number and locations of unexploded munitions to prepare for future de-mining operations.
• During an August 20 visit to four internally displaced person (IDP) collective centers in northwest Tbilisi, the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) noted that nearly 90 percent of the residents of the largest site were women and children. All of the IDP centers reportedly had running water. Two of the centers had cooking facilities, while the other centers relied solely on food distributions for residents' daily food needs. No serious health problems were reported.
Humanitarian Assistance Fact Sheets
• 08/20/08: Fact Sheet #8 (pdf, 52kb)
• 08/20/08: Map #8 (pdf, 1.6mb)
| ESTIMATED NUMBERS AT A GLANCE* | SOURCE | |
| Newly Displaced Persons in Georgia | 128,703 | U.N. Georgia Flash Appeal – 08/18/08 |
| Newly Displaced Persons in Russia | 30,000 | U.N. Georgia Flash Appeal – 08/18/08 |
| FY 2008 HUMANITARIAN FUNDING PROVIDED TO DATE | |
| USAID/OFDA Assistance to Georgia | $2,043,329 |
| State/EUR/ACE Assistance to Georgia | $2,844,581 |
| DOD Assistance to Georgia | $5,845,468 |
| Total USAID, State, and DOD Humanitarian Assistance to Georgia | $10,733,378 |
CURRENT SITUATION
Priority Needs
• The Government of Georgia (GoG), U.N. agencies, and additional relief organizations continue to identify hygiene kits, water containers, blankets, mattresses, pillows, and bed sheets as priority relief commodities. According to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 20,000 mattresses are urgently needed.
• According to the USAID DART, UNHCR is planning to stockpile blankets, kitchen sets, cooking stoves, water containers, and other relief commodities to address needs in South Ossetia.
• Relief organizations report that most displaced persons staying in collective centers in and around Tbilisi do not have access to cooking facilities to prepare meals from emergency food relief distributions. The USAID DART is working with the U.N. World Food Program (WFP), UNHCR, and additional relief organizations to identify a sustainable solution for IDPs to prepare foods from emergency food rations.
Non-Food Items/Emergency Relief Supplies
• As of August 20, OCHA reported that since the beginning of the crisis, an estimated 70 different airlifts, ship transports, and truck convoys have arrived in Georgia, delivering relief commodities from U.N. agencies, NGOs, and donor governments. To date, 35 different donor countries and organizations have contributed approximately $32 million toward the U.N.'s August 18 Flash Appeal, with another $6.3 million pledged.
• On August 20, the USAID DART reported that the GoG is scheduled to coordinate the distribution of emergency food relief to IDPs in and around Tbilisi. The GoG is working with several NGOs, including CARE, Counterpart International, Samaritan’s Purse, Save the Children, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and World Vision to test a coordination and distribution mechanism targeting 55,000 IDPs in the area. As of August 20, the GoRF has reportedly provided nearly 4,000 metric tons (MT) of combined relief commodities to North Ossetia and an additional 1,702 MT of humanitarian assistance to displaced persons in South Ossetia, according to OCHA.
Humanitarian Access
• On August 20, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported sustained humanitarian access to Gori and Kaspi towns in Shida Kartli Region and to Senaki town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Region.
• U.N. agencies, NGOs, and donor governments continue to concentrate relief efforts in and around Tbilisi where the majority of displaced persons are located.
• According to an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) statement on August 21, the organization is planning to expand operations in South Ossetia as well as continue to assist displaced people in Tbilisi and other parts of Georgia, as well as in North Ossetia in the Russian Federation. Health
• ICRC is reportedly delivering assistance to hospitals in Kutaisi and Kareli districts, and medical assessment teams from both Tbilisi and Zugdidi have been able to visit Kutaisi.
• According to the U.N., the official death toll from the recent conflict is 213 people, with more than 400 civilians and military personnel injured. According to the GOG Minister of Health, the hospitals in Kurta and Tkviavi are completely ruined. In Gori, two hospitals are functional and a third hospital will be opened later this week.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)
• According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), WASH conditions remain a significant concern in some IDP centers in Tbilisi. ICRC teams are working to restore water services in Tbilisi-area IDP centers, many of which are abandoned buildings. On August 19, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children/UK facilitated the delivery of 400 hygiene kits and 100 water containers to Gori, which the local administration will distribute to conflict-affected populations.
• ICRC teams in and around Tbilisi continue to restore water connections at the numerous IDP centers in the area. In many public buildings where IDPs are sheltering, ICRC is working to fix pipes and sewage systems.
Logistics
• On August 21, four U.S. European Command (EUCOM) flights arrived in Tbilisi delivering 56,000 humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) and nearly 14,000 meals-ready-to-eat (MREs) from DOD stockpiles; nearly 650 sleeping bags from State/EUR/ACE stockpiles in Germany; and more than 4,600 hygiene kits from USAID/OFDA's warehouse in Pisa, Italy. Since August 13, EUCOM has flown a total of 32 missions to Georgia, with additional flights of U.S. Department of State, Department of Defense, and USAID relief commodities scheduled through late August. The total value of EUCOM's transportation assistance is more than $4.2 million.
USAID, STATE, AND DOD HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
• On August 9, U.S. Ambassador John F. Tefft declared a disaster due to the effects of armed conflict in Georgia. In response, USAID/OFDA provided an initial $250,000 through USAID/Georgia to four NGOs—CARE, Counterpart International, UMCOR, and World Vision—for the provision of emergency relief supplies to benefit up to 10,000 people. On August 19, USAID/OFDA provided a further $123,000 to Counterpart International to assist an additional 2,500 people.
• The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi immediately released U.S. Department of State pre-positioned disaster packages, including medical supplies, tents, blankets, bedding, hygiene items, and clothing valued at $1.2 million.
• On August 13, EUCOM began airlifting USAID/OFDA, DOD, and State/EUR/ACE-provided relief and medical supplies to Tbilisi. As of August 20, the total value of USG emergency relief commodities, including relief, shelter, emergency food assistance, hygiene kits, and medical commodities, is nearly $4.7 million.
• On August 14, USAID/OFDA in collaboration with USAID Office of Food for Peace provided $1 million to WFP for the procurement of 653.5 MT of emergency food commodities for populations affected by the ongoing emergency.
• The enhanced USAID/OFDA regional team for Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia transitioned to a Washington, D.C.-based Response Management Team on August 13 to coordinate USG humanitarian response efforts, identify priority needs, and program additional emergency assistance.
• A 14-person USAID DART has been in Tbilisi since August 15 to conduct humanitarian needs assessments, coordinate with the GoG and relief agencies, and inform further USAID assistance priorities.
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