Brussels, 6 November 1997 (RFE/RL) - Humanitarian aid valued at about $11 million has been approved for Tajikistan by the European Union Humanitarian Office (ECHO).
The money is for a coordinated program of aid that will run until next June. The program is intended to cover medical aid, including prevention of epidemics, setting up a primary health-care system, and improvements in water supply and sanitation. There is also food aid, and assistance for refugees and displaced persons to help re-establish stable communities.
Our Brussels correspondent today reports that the assessment of European Commission officials is that Tajikistan is still in a critical state after its civil war and remains one of the poorest countries among the former Soviet republics. Last Winter, the Commission recalls, there was a serious epidemic of typhoid.