Cablegate: Action Request On Coordination of Czech Aid To

VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPG #0042 0261227
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 261227Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2089
INFO RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE IMMEDIATE 0002
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO IMMEDIATE 0001
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0279

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000042

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

PLEASE PASS HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID AEMR ECON EFIN PGOV PHUM PREL EZ HA
SUBJECT: ACTION REQUEST ON COORDINATION OF CZECH AID TO
HAITI

REF: A. STATE 6918
B. PRAGUE 26

1. (SBU) This is an action request. Please see paragraphs 2
and 3.

2. (SBU) We delivered ref A on January 25 to Czech Foreign
Ministry Humanitarian Aid Department Officer Hana Volna, who
is leading government coordination efforts on Haiti
earthquake relief. She told us that she has distributed the
information among relevant government contacts. She also
reported that a two-member expert mission composed of one
officer from the Czech Foreign Affairs Ministry and one
officer from the Czech Development Agency will arrive in
Santo Domingo on Thursday, January 28. They will spend
Monday, February 1 through Wednesday, February 3 in Haiti.
The purpose of their trip will be to identify small-scale
projects well-suited for the early recovery and
reconstruction assistance that the Czech Government has
pledged.

3. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: Volna has requested contact
information for Americans in Haiti with whom the expert
mission can meet. They would like to gain on-the-ground
information about needs and coordination channels. Post
requests names and contact information for individuals who
could assist the Czech expert mission and serve as a point of
coordination.

4. (U) In all, the Czech Government has promised CZK 20
million (USD 1.1 million) to the international Haiti relief
effort. The first CZK 5 million (USD 276,243) has already
been transferred to UNICEF for immediate assistance, and the
remaining CZK 15 million (USD 828,729) will be administered
through humanitarian channels yet to be determined. In
addition, Czech non-government organizations have raised CZK
47 million ($2.6 million) according to media estimates. A
team of medical workers financed by People in Need, a major
Czech humanitarian organization, is scheduled to arrive in
Haiti on January 26. Czech assistance will continue to
increase as individual Czech cities and regions also continue
to pledge money to Haiti relief and private contributions
pour in every day.
Thompson-Jones

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