Humanitarian Need and Funding for Africa

• The U.S. provides humanitarian assistance to protect vulnerable populations and sustain development progress.
• The U.S. provided over $3.2 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) to sub-Saharan Africa in 2004, more than triple the amount provided in 2000.
• The U.S. has also provided almost $1.4 billion[1] in humanitarian assistance to 32 African emergencies during fiscal year 2005. This includes assistance provided through the United Nations and non-governmental organizations[2]. In 2003 the U.S. provided over $1.6 billion in humanitarian assistance to Africa, in 2002, over $725 million.
• President Bush announced today an additional estimated $674.4 million[3] in supplemental and other immediate emergency funding for Africa this year.
• The U.S. provides humanitarian assistance based on three criteria; humanitarian need, needs elsewhere in the world, and the U.S.’s ability to ensure that its assistance reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• United Nation’s appeals for humanitarian assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa show approximately 44 million people throughout Africa require humanitarian assistance (food, shelter, water, sanitation, health care and/or protection).
• The United Nations indicates that only $937 million of these needs have been received to date, leaving $3.54 billion in needs still unmet.
• Today, President Bush and Prime Minister Blair challenged our international partners in the donor community to provide greater assistance to Africa and address the critical needs that are represented by the unmet needs identified by the United Nations.
• The U.S. also calls upon the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea to take additional reforms to mitigate the current food emergencies in their countries and to prevent future crises.
• While recognizing current urgent needs, the U.S. continues to support African led initiatives such as the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) that can bring about policy changes, market improvements, and increased productivity to break the cycle of famine in Africa.