09 January 2008

Additional U.S. Humanitarian Assistance to Kenya

Funding will assist Kenyans displaced following post-election violence

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U.S. Agency for International Development
Office of Henrietta Fore, USAID Administrator
Press Release
January 8, 2008

USAID Humanitarian Assistance to Kenya

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will be providing an additional $4.8 million in humanitarian aid to assist vulnerable and displaced Kenyans following recent post-election violence across the country. This new announcement is in addition to an initial $200,000 which went to the Kenya Red Cross Society for the purchase and distribution of emergency relief supplies, bringing the total to $5 million in humanitarian assistance.

The remaining $4.8 million is going to non-governmental organizations and other international organizations for health, food security, water, sanitation, and hygiene, and temporary shelter activities. On January 3, U.S. Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger declared an urgent need for assistance due to the effects of the election-related violence.

Violence broke out across Kenya on December 30, 2007, in response to the disputed presidential election results. To date, up to 250,000 people, primarily in western areas of Kenya, have been displaced from their homes, and several hundred people have been killed. In addition, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), approximately 2,000 Kenyans have fled to Uganda.

In addition to humanitarian assistance, USAID is supporting more than $300 million in development activities in Kenya, including education, health, economic growth, democracy and governance, and peace and security programs. USAID staff in Kenya will continue to monitor the situation and coordinate appropriate responses with other U.S. and international agencies.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)