Fact Sheet: United States Humanitarian Assistance Since Chornobyl

Fact Sheet:
United States Humanitarian Assistance Since Chornobyl

April 20, 2006

U.S. Department of State Humanitarian Assistance Program:

Since 1992, the United States Government, under the Department of State's "Operation Provide Hope," has delivered $582 million in donated and Department of Defense excess humanitarian commodities to the people of Ukraine at a cost of $43.5 million in FREEDOM Support Act Funding. This assistance was transported in more than 5100 surface shipments and 74 airlifts. Approximately one-half of this assistance in the form of medicines, medical supplies and equipment was targeted to victims of the Chornobyl accident, including special Department of State airlifts in April 1996 and April 2002, commemorating both the 10th and 15th anniversaries of the Chornobyl accident.
During this same period, as part of "Operation Provide Hope," the Department of State has sponsored and funded 31 humanitarian aid shipments in conjunction with the "Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund" (CCRDF), most recently on April 20, 2006 on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Chornobyl accident. These shipments have provided humanitarian commodities, including pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and medical equipment valued in excess of $55 million for victims of Chornobyl. The latest shipment has been executed in cooperation with Cuban American Community's Children Health Initiative.
This assistance goes to 18 partnership medical facilities in Ukraine to support programs treating children suffering from the effects of the Chornobyl accident. Partnership hospitals include; Neonatal Intensive Care Units, Pediatric Oncology hospitals, Infant Cardiac Surgical hospitals, and Maternity and Perinatal centers. In addition, this program provides medical assistance to six orphanages for disabled children.

USAID Health Programs in Ukraine:

The U.S. Agency for International Development's Breast Cancer Assistance Program in Ukraine ($3.2 million, 1997- 2001) established modern screening and treatment approaches. In addition to breast cancer public awareness campaigns, community involvement and NGOs the program supported breast cancer patients. Today these same NGOs are still actively involved in awareness and fundraising. For example, last year public and private sector fundraising resulted in the purchase of two new mammography machines for hospitals in Ukraine.
The Chornobyl Childhood Illness Program ($4 million, 1998-2002) supported programs to screen and treat childhood mental and physical illnesses related to Chornobyl radiation.
The UN Chornobyl Grant, ($1 million in USAID funding 1998-2002) was managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and supported three activities in Ukraine: social-psychological rehabilitation centers in the Kyiv and Zhytomir Regions; a portion of the World Health Organization's International Programme on the Health Effects of the Chornobyl Accident (IPHECA); and a feasibility study on preparation for dike construction at the Chornobyl Plant site for the protection of rivers and water reservoirs.
The Birth Defects Surveillance and Prevention Program ($3.7 million 1998-2005) provided the University of South Alabama $3.7 million following Congressional directives to support a program to register and reduce environmentally related birth defects in the Chernobyl-affected areas.
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