LITHUANIA PROVIDES HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO HAITI

UNCLAS VILNIUS 000054 SIPDIS STATE FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASKFORCE, WHA/CAR: V DE PIRRO, IO/UNP: B NARANJO AND M GARUCKIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PREF EAID ECON HA LH SUBJECT: LITHUANIA PROVIDES HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO HAITI REF: SECSTATE 6918 ¶1. We delivered reftel talking points and a copy of the joint communique by President Preval and Secretary Clinton to Edita Razmenaite who is coordinating Haiti assistance for the MFA's Development Cooperation and Planning Division. Razmenaite confirmed that the GOL has pledged 50,000 litas (USD 21,000) to Haiti through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),but added that additional donations from the GOL are unlikely. She explained that the GOL does not have a budget for humanitarian assistance and, in case of need, it may use funds from the State Reserve. However, Lithuania has been hard hit by the financial crisis and there are no extra funds in the State Reserve at this time. ¶2. Aside from government donations, Razmenaite said that NGOs are collecting money from the people of Lithuania to support relief efforts in Haiti. For example, Save the Children is running an SMS campaign through which concerned citizens can donate either 2 litas (USD .84) or 5 litas (USD 2.10) by texting to designated donor numbers. This drive will conclude on February 17. We spoke to contacts at major NGOs in Lithuania and confirmed that they have raised 476,000 litas (USD 200,000) for Haiti including 395,000 litas (USD 166,000) through Save the Children, 54,000 litas (USD 23,000) through ICRC (not including money pledged by the GOL) and 27,000 litas (USD 11,000) through Caritas. The press reported that the Confederation of Bishops would also collect money for Haiti in churches across Lithuania. ¶3. In addition to local efforts, Razmenaite pointed out that the GOL is working through the EU to assist Haiti. She noted that the European Development Fund has a regional package for Caribbean nations and an emergency fund as well. We thanked the GOL for its contributions to the ICRC drive and asked Razmenaite to keep us updated on any additional contributions to the relief effort. Razmenaite said that she would forward a copy of our non paper and joint communique to the Prime Minister's office to include with briefing materials for his visit to the U.S. on February 2. DERSE