The Finnish government has made initial humanitarian aid appropriations of €58 million ($79 million) for this year. Its total 2011 humanitarian aid budget amounts to €78 million.
According to a Feb. 21 press release from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the funding involves:
- €16.5 million for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
- €8.4 million for the International Red Cross.
- €6.8 million for the World Food Program.
- €3 million for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
- €10 million for emergencies in Sudan and the Horn of Africa.
- €4 million for the crisis in West Africa, including aid for drought victims in the Sahel region and Ivorian refugees.
- €7 million for relief efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the rest of Central Africa.
- €1.2 million for aid activities in Zimbabwe.
The Finnish humanitarian allocations will also benefit Haiti, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
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