Update on Austrian Aid to Haiti

UNCLAS VIENNA 000107 SIPDIS STATE FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE (ROSSER),WHA/FO (WILLIAMS), USAID FOR AID/A (O'NEILL),DCHA/OFDA, UNAID/OFDA, EUR/EX, EUR/NB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV PREL PREF HA AU SUBJECT: Update on Austrian Aid to Haiti REF: VIENNA 69 ¶1. Austria's total (public and private) assistance to Haiti has risen to about EUR 10 million, making Austria one of the more generous countries in the EU on a per capita basis(after Norway, Sweden and Denmark). ¶2. Government Aid: This week Foreign Minister Spindelegger announced that the GoA would contribute an additional 2 million Euros to its earlier contribution of EUR 600,000 in emergency funds and EUR 200,000 in supplies - making the government's total contribution Euros 2.8 million Euros. Provincial governments have also pledged aid to Haiti: EUR 500,000 from Vienna and EUR 350,000 from Tyrol. ¶3. Private Aid: Private donations have far exceeded government donations. "Nachbar-in-Not" (Neighbors-in-Need),the umbrella organization for Austrian aid groups reported this week that is has received EUR 6.7 million in donations for Haiti. There are also various business associations collecting smaller amounts. On a political note, our Interior Ministry contact reports that there are now two small NGO teams of Austrians in Haiti: one is from the Austrian Red Cross and is sponsored by the conservative People's Party (OeVP),the other is from the Austrian Samaritans and is sponsored by the Social Democratic Party (SPOe). ¶4. Aid Shipments To Date: According to Christian Krol at the Interior Ministry, three shipments of aid supplies for Haiti have been sent/arranged: - 19 January: 2 Interagency Emergency Health Kits (IEHKs) left for Port-au-Prince on board an IL76 along with a Red Cross water purification equipment and hygiene parcels; - 24 January: 400 family tents left for St. Domingo on board a joint transport arranged by the GoA along with assets from Slovenia and Hungary. - End January (pending): 10 additional IEHKs which will be shipped by Caritas (a Catholic NGO) probably through St. Domingo. EACHO