| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC November 27, 2006 Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to award $500,000 grant to the United for Colombia FoundationThe Department of State's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) announces that it will award $500,000 to the United for Colombia Foundation in support of their medical assistance program. Each year many Colombian soldiers and police members are wounded in the line of duty as they fight to rid Colombia of the scourges of narco-terrorism. United for Colombia works to bring a small number of severely wounded patients with disabling or disfiguring injuries to hospitals in the United States where they can receive reconstructive surgery and expert medical care. The award will allow thirty patients to receive treatment at hospitals in the United States over the next three years. The award will fund all incidental costs associated with their medical treatment and rehabilitation, including medicine, travel, food, and lodging. The Department of State applauds the partnership that United for Colombia has formed with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to make this program possible. The Mayo Clinic has very graciously offered to provide the actual medical treatments and surgeries free of charge; contributing the expertise of their outstanding surgical staff and waiving the high cost of multiple procedures to reconstruct faces and limbs and perform other highly complex procedures at the cutting edge of medical practice. Other renowned hospitals have expressed interest in supporting the work of United for Colombia, and several corporations have donated money and resources to UFC in support of this humanitarian partnership. The Department appreciates the support of the United States Congress and particularly the support of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Foreign Operations (SACFO) in making this program a reality. We express our appreciation for the dedicated work of United for Colombia, which is founded and led by Mrs. Gabriela Febres-Cordero. The United States supports Government of Colombia programs to confront every aspect of the drug trade and assists Colombia in re-establishing control and the rule of law in areas threatened by drug-related violence. Primary elements of this comprehensive assistance include illicit crop eradication, alternative development programs, interdiction operations, institution building, and justice sector reform. 2006/1070 |
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