USAID Assists Kenyans Affected by Post-Election Turmoil

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will provide $200,000 to the Kenya Red Cross Society for the purchase and distribution of emergency relief supplies, including blankets and shelter material, for communities displaced by the violence and looting across Kenya related to disputed presidential election results.

As of January 2, 2008 an estimated 100,000 people, primarily in western areas of Kenya, have been displaced according to the Kenya Red Cross Society. Media reports indicate nearly 500 deaths have resulted from election-related violence. On January 3, U.S. Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger declared an urgent need for assistance in response to the humanitarian situation.

USAID staff in Kenya are monitoring the situation and coordinating with other U.S. and international agencies to facilitate humanitarian assistance to affected populations.

This emergency assistance is in addition to the more than $300 million in USAID development support in Kenya which is helping to establish a healthier, better educated population through health, economic growth, democracy and governance, peace and security, and other humanitarian assistance programs.

For more information about USAID's emergency humanitarian assistance programs, please visit: http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.