Australia will provide an additional $2.5 million for humanitarian relief and mine action in Uganda and Angola.
The funding to help stricken people in the African nations was announced by the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Greg Hunt.
Mr Hunt said $1.5 million would go towards supporting aid efforts in Uganda.
‘We will contribute $1 million for the protection of women and children displaced by conflict and $500,000 for mine action needs assessments for the safe return of internally displaced persons,’ Mr Hunt said.
‘Currently 1.7 million people are displaced across northern Uganda. Eighty per cent are women and children and in need of on-going humanitarian assistance.
‘This assistance through UNICEF will contribute to child protection services and the prevention and response to gender based violence in northern Uganda.’
Mr Hunt said Angola is the most mine affected country in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than two million people there exposed to landmines on a daily basis.
‘Australia will provide $1 million through UNICEF to help educate people about landmines and to assist victims of landmines,’ Mr Hunt said.
‘Our latest contributions, through Australia’s international aid agency, AusAID, will enable UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme to continue to help the people of Angola and Uganda where millions of people face severe hardship,’ he added.
The contribution is in addition to the $1.2 million in humanitarian assistance provided to Uganda, through UNICEF, for water and sanitation services in displaced persons camps, announced in August 2006.
The Australia Government will provide an estimated $82 million in aid to Africa in 2006-07.