US Contributes $4.8 Million to IOM
to Assist the People of Afghanistan

The following is the text of a press statement released by the Department of State in Washington, D.C. on Friday, April 26, 2002

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
April 26, 2002

STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN

Afghanistan Emergency: U.S. Contribution of $4.8 Million

The United States is pleased to announce an additional contribution of
$4.8 million to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to
assist the people of Afghanistan. International Organization for
Migration will use these funds to continue and expand its humanitarian
work helping Afghan refugees and displaced persons return to their
homes and reintegrate into their communities. This contribution comes
from the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and
Migration (PRM), and brings the total U.S. funding provided since
October 1 to the Afghan people to more than $366 million. This total
includes $100 million from the Bureau of Population, Migration and
Refugees, and $198 million from the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID).

The United States believes that the work being carried out in
Afghanistan by the International Organization for Migration and other
assistance groups has been, and will continue to be, crucial to the
successful return of the Afghan people to their homes and their
reintegration into their communities. Assistance for refugees,
displaced persons and conflict victims are a shared international
responsibility. We call on other donors to be generous in their
response to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

End text of Press release