European Commission to scale back aid over three years

The Humanitarian Aid Office of the European Commission (ECHO) has reaffirmed its plans to scale back its humanitarian activities in Tajikistan over the next three years. Since 1993, the EU has provided the impoverished former Soviet republic with 153 million euros (US $182 million) worth of humanitarian aid. "At this point we are looking at phasing out our humanitarian assistance in 2007, providing the situation remains stable or improves," Cecile Pichon, ECHO head of office, told IRIN in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on Wednesday. One month earlier, the European Commission announced 8 million euros ($9.7 million) in humanitarian assistance to the Central Asian state - 20 percent less than its annual contribution the previous year. An additional 2.5 million euros ($2.97 million) was pledged for regional disaster preparedness - the vast majority earmarked for Tajikistan. "Last year we had 10 million euros and decided to begin a very slow phase-down in the country," Pichon stated, noting however that they would continue with the same sectors of food, health, water and sanitation given their interrelation. According to ECHO, nearly half the Tajik population of 6.5 million lack access to safe drinking water. Poor water and sanitation have a direct impact on infant mortality in the country - something that was particularly problematic. And though each sector would receive approximately one third of the 8 million euro contribution, Pichon conceded that the food component would be less. "Last year and the year before, food was the largest sector - between 40 and 45 percent," she said, explaining that the issue of food was more a problem of access as opposed to availability now. "We have a lot of components working on this, but a lot of the other European Commission's instruments are addressing poverty which at some stage will help people have better incomes, and subsequently access to food," she said, adding that direct food assistance to those most in need, however, would continue. "Wherever possible we try to move away from direct food assistance because it is not sustainable, but we continue targeting the most vulnerable with direct food assistance because they have no alternatives," she explained, emphasising as humanitarians, that was a core part of their efforts. In larger urban areas like Dushanbe and the northern city of Khutjand, elderly pensioners or individuals without family support - including female-headed households - were targeted, while in rural areas, people without access to land or incomes were the main beneficiaries. "It's up to the individual NGO partners we work with to determine the criteria for vulnerability," the ECHO official said. "We don't have one criteria - it depends on many different factors." Meanwhile, the rate of severe malnutrition in the country has also shown signs of improvement, but remained fragile. "It's progressing and improving, but the number of children at risk remains high," she warned, citing a recent national nutritional survey by Action Against Hunger (AAH), a collaborative work involving 15 organisations led by AAH (UK) and the US-based NGO Mercy Corps. So while the EU, one of the largest donors to the country, was set to scale back its humanitarian assistance in Tajikistan, it was far from disengaging altogether. In a parallel move, the European Commission planned to increase its activities in development and technical assistance in line with the government's poverty alleviation strategy. Such a move reflects what many donors see as a greater need for long-term development assistance to the mountainous nation - and less on humanitarian aid - in what could be described as a transitional phase for the country. In a recent interview with IRIN, US Ambassador to Tajikistan, Richard E Hoagland remarked: "Now that the country has achieved stability, now that the economy is beginning to grow, now that for all intents and purposes this is an absolutely normal country - the international donors need to help more with development so Tajikistan can catch up and move forward."