US military civil affairs units in Iraq so far have spent $126 million to directly improve education, health care, electricity, water and security, according to a civil affairs commander.
The funds -- from the Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) -- allow military civil affairs commanders to make short-term humanitarian reconstruction decisions locally, based on the geography, population and specific needs of their assigned regions, Brigadier General David Blackledge said at a recent press briefing.
Of the money spent, $6.8 million has gone to support the creation of new local governments and an independent judiciary, Blackledge said. All major cities in Iraq now have representative city councils. An additional $6.4 million has been spent to reopen all of Iraq's 240 hospitals and almost all of its 1,200 clinics and to provide millions of vaccinations and other pharmaceuticals.
Education projects have received more than $29 million in CERP funding and commanders have spent almost nine million dollars in CERP funds on water and sanitation projects, including the clearing of 18,500 agricultural irrigation canals, Blackledge said. More than $22 million has been spent on security, including the creation of an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
