Macedonia UN Agencies Appeal for Relief Donations Posted December 3, 2001
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011203/wl/balkans_macedonia_un_dc_1.html
Monday December 3 9:47 AM ET

Macedonia UN Agencies Appeal for Relief Donations

SKOPJE (Reuters) - United Nations (news - web sites) agencies in Macedonia appealed to donors on Monday for contributions of $41 million to its 2002 conflict relief operations in the tiny Balkan republic.

Amin Awad, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Macedonia, said the money would be used mostly to assist an estimated 100,000 displaced people and others affected by a seven-month guerrilla conflict which ended with a peace deal in August.

``People returning must have a roof over their heads and the means to begin to rebuild their lives,'' he said.

``As such, one of the core elements of the U.N. program is helping to repair homes, schools and clinics that have been damaged by fighting,'' Awad told a news briefing.

The ethnic Albanian insurgency was resolved by a Western-sponsored accord granting more rights to Macedonia's largest minority, a pact still awaiting implementation.

``We still have a lot of work, but we hope that the cycle of violence will be broken,'' Awad said.

In a consolidated inter-agency report for 2002, the U.N. agencies said that besides the displaced people, some 260,000 people in Macedonia would indirectly benefit from activities to stabilize and build confidence between communities.

Funding needs cited included $400,000 for food, $8.4 million for agriculture, $4.86 million for health, $3.85 million for family shelter and non-food items and $3.5 million for education.

The U.N. agencies said that their 2002 humanitarian strategy would aim to smooth a transition from relief to economic development programs.