Dutch Government offers Moldova $1.2m to alleviate drought effects

The Government of the Netherlands offered Moldova 1.2 million US dollars to alleviate the effects of last summer’s drought as part of the UN project “Relief and Technical Assistance Response to the Drought in Moldova”. Dutch Ambassador to Moldova Ron Keller said the donation comes to complete the UN assistance to Moldova and is part of a number of actions taken by the Government of Moldova in concert with the United Nations to respond to the imperative necessities created by last year’s drought that had a serious impact on the country’s economy. “We hope this aid will solve not only immediate problems of the Moldovan population, but will also contribute to the creation of an efficient system that will diminish the risks caused by natural calamities”, Keller said. The six-month UN Project “Relief and Technical Assistance Response to the Drought in Moldova” was launched in September 2007 and has a total available budget of approximately 8 million USD. Until now, 20,500 families from the country affected by the drought have benefited through UN from packages consisting of seeds, fertilizers and fuel. In the following months, other 20,000 impoverished households from Moldova will receive fodder to ensure food security for domestic animals throughout the winter period, avoiding in such way their unnecessary slaughtering. The financial support is provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the European Commission through its Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Government of Norway, the Government of Italy, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The project is managed by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Population Fund, the United Nations Children Fund, other UN agencies and the Government of Moldova as well as non-governmental organizations and local public authorities which are implementing partners of the project.