VZCZCXRO6156
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHPG #0154 0450917
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140917Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6949
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000154 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR, EB, E STAFF 
STATE PLEASE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON EZ PREL
SUBJECT: CZECH REPUBLIC'S ROBUST HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAM 
 
REF: PRAGUE 97 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. SUMMARY AND COMMENT: 2005 was a big year for Czech 
humanitarian assistance with a record total disbursement of 
USD 8.5 million, up from USD 2.2 million in 2004.  In 
addition to the humanitarian assistance budget, the MFA has 
discretionary authority to allocate up to about USD 200,000 
per project on emergency relief, in coordination with the 
Ministry of the Interior.  The biggest humanitarian 
assistance projects in 2005 were Iraq reconstruction (USD 8.3 
million), Pakistan earthquake relief (USD 4.6 million), 
Southeast Asia tsunami relief (USD 1.2 million), and U.S. 
Hurricane Katrina relief (USD 652,000).  In 2006, the GOCR 
hopes to maintain a balance between emergency relief and 
attending to existing or "forgotten" crises, such as 
sub-Saharan Africa. While the overall size of Czech 
humanitarian assistance is quite modest, the GOCR is an 
emerging donor that is becoming more and more active in the 
international arena.  And its small size also allows for 
greater flexibility and speedy disbursement, as we saw in the 
case of Czech contribution for Hurricane Katrina relief in 
the U.S. -- the largest contribution among the Visegrad-4 and 
the first pick-up point for the first-ever NATO humanitarian 
assistance flights.  Reftel cable series discuss GOCR 
democracy promotion efforts around the world.  Post will 
report via septels GOCR medical assistance to Iraqi and 
Pakistani children and GOCR Offical Development Assistance 
(ODA) figures.  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
¶2. Econoff met with Jiri Slavik of the Czech Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs Department of Development Cooperation to 
review 2005 humanitarian assistance projects and priorities 
for 2006.  Mr. Slavik is the GOCR representative to the 
European Commission's Humanitarian Assistance Committee 
(HAC), which meets once a month in Brussels.  Slavik 
explained that humanitarian assistance is a line item in the 
annual government budget, with USD 2.4 million budgeted for 
2005 and USD 2.7 million for 2006.  The figure most often 
cited for Czech humanitarian assistance in 2005 is USD 6.6 
million (the budgeted USD 2.4 million plus four emergency 
relief projects worth USD 4.2 million), which was 
distributed among 16 different projects. 
 
¶3. In addition to the USD 6.6 million disbursed by the MFA, 
other ministries also provided humanitarian assistance in 
¶2005.  The Ministry of Defense spent about USD 1.5 million on 
Pakistan earthquake relief (USD 625,000 to send doctors to a 
Dutch hospital in Pakistan and USD 835,000 on NATO flights) 
and the Ministry of the Interior spent USD 417,000 on 
medevacs from Pakistan.  Therefore, the 2005 Czech 
humanitarian assistance figure is really around the USD 8.5 
million.  In addition to humanitarian assistance, the 
Ministry of Industry and Trade also spent USD 8.3 million on 
Iraq reconstruction projects involving private sector 
companies. 
 
¶4.  In 2006, the MFA hopes to reach a 65/35 balance between 
emergency relief projects and long-running crises.  While 
much of the humanitarian assistance will depend on emerging 
crises around the world, thus far the GOCR plans to focus on 
the "forgotten crisis" of sub-Saharan Africa and on avian flu 
outbreaks.  At the recent Afghanistan Donors Conference in 
London, the GOCR announced over USD 1 million (CZK 25 
million) to support Czech NGOs, demining projects, and UN 
activities in Afghanistan. 
CABANISS