UN and NGOs seeking $62 million for humanitarian programs in Northern Caucasus

On November 19, the UN and a number of non-government organizations (NGOs) have called for $62 million in international funds to be spent on humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Chechnya and neighboring North-Caucasian republics.

The joint UN-NGO appeal was presented at the Interfax central office in Moscow on Wednesday. $61,923,703 are being sought from international donors.

The document says that "about 1,220,000 people in the region are in need of proper living conditions."

According to the authors of the appeal, humanitarian organizations have two strategic goals in the Northern Caucasus: "to offer urgent humanitarian aid and help to restore normal living conditions and to enhance the potential of local civil society and government agencies."