UN announces $30 mn aid in seven countries

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations has announced allocation of $ 30 million from Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to its agencies conducting humanitarian works in seven countries.

The fresh allocation for under-funded emergencies will assist aid projects in Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Iraq, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Sri Lanka and Syria.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said funds given by CERF "are often the last source of hope" for people facing crises.

"Millions of people affected by some of the less visible crises around the world often have to endure great deprivation," Holmes said.

The largest funding recipient will be UN agencies in Chad, where $ 6.8 million has been granted to help the deteriorating humanitarian situation that has resulted from a fresh influx of refugees from the neighbouring Darfur region of Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR).

Presently, as many as 500,000 people, mostly in eastern Chad, depend heavily on outside aid.

UN agencies operating in war-torn Iraq will receive USD five million, while those working in Syria which is now home to about 1.5 million increasingly impoverished Iraqi refugees will be given $ four million to assist with food, health and other relief programmes.

UN-backed programmes and projects in Afghanistan are slated to receive $ 4.6 million, while $ four million has been set aside for Sri Lanka, $ 3.6 million for Burundi and $ two million for the North Korea.