US aid body appeals for more help for refugees

The US Committee for Refugees has recommended measures designed to boost aid for refugees worldwide, especially in Africa. In a review titled 'Beyond Afghanistan: Humanitarian Aid To Refugees Worldwide Faces $126 million Funding Crisis', the committee urges the US Congress to increase rather than cut aid for refugees. The appeal comes as Congress attempts to reconcile a demand by the House of Representatives to cut core US funding for refugees by US $5 million and the Senate's request that funds for refugees abroad be increased by about $10 million. The refugee committee also suggests that European donor governments give more money to the UH High Commissioner for Refugees, after years of cutbacks that have worsened conditions in refugee camps. "UNHCR should cease its practice of deliberately understating the true funding needs of refugee programmes in a misguided effort to placate tight-fisted donor governments," the committee added. Effects of budget shortfalls The committee reported that Africa - source of at least three million refugees and some 10 million internally displaced people - was the worst affected by budget shortfalls for refugee aid. The impact of the shortfalls this year affected refugees from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, residing in Tanzania. These refugees, already forced to survive on a 20-percent cut in food rations, suffered more food cutbacks during 2001 due to fewer food donations. Up to 5,000 refugees left their camps to protect the cuts, the committee reported. Funding cuts also delayed the purchase of emergency drugs for 500,000 refugees. Allocations of soap to refugee families were halved, and cuts in budget caused fuel shortages, "slowing truck deliveries of relief supplies". In the DRC, it stated, budget cuts of $3.1 million prevented aid workers from repairing bridges and roads to reach some 8,000 new refugees from Angola. It also meant lack of aid to some "tens of thousands" of refugees who arrived earlier. In addition, it reported, a $1 million budget cut prevented UN officials from regularly monitoring the protection needs of more than 35,000 Rwandan refugees who have returned home in the past two years. It said that the lack of funds for some 30,000 DRC refugees led to deteriorating water, sanitation and health care, and education services. In neighbouring Burundi, it added, budget cuts of $3.5 million occurred despite the arrival of 3,000 new refugees from the DRC and the reintegration needs of 15,000 newly returned Burundian refugees.