RED CROSS
ASKS FOR MONEY
On
Tuesday, December 14, 1999, the International Red Cross appealed for
$198 million to help with relief operations to take place next year.
The money would be divided up and used in various places around the
world with Yugoslavia, Africa's Great Lakes region, and North Korea
among the chief recipients of the money.
A senior
official with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies said that long-term aid for many ongoing crises - such as
those across the former Yugoslavia, in Angola and in and around Congo
- is increasingly important.
An example
of how the relief money may be distributed is as follows:
1) $ 30.4
million for Yugoslavia to help refugees from Kosovo, Bosnia, and Croatia.
2) $ 10
million for poverty and health programs in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and
Armenia.
3) $ 8.5
million for refugees in Tanzania.
4) $ 6
million for food shortages and natural disasters in North Korea.
The senior
official with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies also stated that the appeal for money "is just a starting
point" because earthquakes in Turkey and Taiwan, as well as the Kosovo
crisis, helped to make 1999 a record year for emergency aid.
