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USAID Sends Post-Earthquake Assistance to Children of Kyrgyzstan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2008
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov

WASHINGTON D.C. - The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), are providing $50,000 to address child protection issues after four earthquakes struck a remote area in Kyrgyzstan. This assistance, implemented by USAID partner Mercy Corps, will include support for psychosocial services as well as the rehabilitation of a multi-functional community structure in the affected area.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, four earthquakes, including one of magnitude 6.0 on December 26, 2007, and three smaller ones on January 1, 2008, struck a remote area of southern Kyrgyzstan, approximately 30 kilometers from the city of Osh. The Government of Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations reported the earthquakes displaced 968 families and assessments of affected communities are ongoing. The U.S. Embassy noted that the temblors caused widespread damage to housing and infrastructure. Kyrgyz emergency response agencies, international non-governmental organizations, and UN agencies are providing emergency relief supplies to affected families. However, unseasonably cold weather, with prolonged sub-freezing temperatures and snow storms, are hampering relief efforts.

U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch requested that USAID provide assistance due to the impact of the earthquakes on the populations in Osh Region.

Since 1992, the American people, through USAID, have provided over $360 million in programs that assist the development of Kyrgyzstan's economic sector, healthcare system, and democratic institutions. USAID programs cooperate with ministries, governmental and non-government organizations, businesses, and communities to improve laws, create jobs, increase incomes, improve services, and better manage available resources. USAID operates under a bilateral agreement with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, and is the largest single-country donor organization in Kyrgyzstan. For more information about USAID's emergency humanitarian assistance programs, please visit: www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.

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