ANCA: USAID has delivered only $2.5 million in new aid for displaced  Armenians from Artsakh

ArmInfo.A full year after Azerbaijan's September 27, 2020 attack on Artsakh, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) report to Congress failed to cite  any direct U.S. assistance to at-risk families in Artsakh and a total  of just $2.5 million in new USAID humanitarian aid to help Armenia  deal with this ongoing crisis, reported the Armenian National  Committee of America (ANCA).  

In a two-page written response to Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), USAID officials acknowledged the "acute humanitarian crisis" in Armenia caused by the displacement of  90,000 Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).  Rep. Chu's request  for clarification of the U.S. humanitarian response is among a broad  array of bi-partisan Senate and House inquiries on the subject.    "The Biden Administration - a year after Azerbaijan's attack - fails  to cite even a single U.S. aid program in Artsakh - the target of 44  days of relentless aggression," said ANCA Executive Director Aram  Hamparian. "And, while finally acknowledging the 'acute humanitarian  crisis' facing Armenia - this long-overdue USAID response reveals  that the Administration's actual spending falls far short of the  level required to meet the very basic humanitarian needs - shelter,  protection, health, and food security - that USAID itself has  identified." 

Rep. Chu stressed, "Azerbaijan's aggression has created lasting pain  and damage in Artsakh. Armenians have lost their lives, homes, and  land, while many are still separated from families or imprisoned by  Azerbaijan. And on top of the hurt caused by Azerbaijan's war,  Armenians are continuing to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic. I  believe the US can and must stand with the Armenian people. That  means increasing our support for refugees and reconstruction, and  ensuring the resources to help Armenians address the coronavirus. I  have spoken with USAID Administrator Samantha Power about this urgent  need and will continue to press the Administration to act to provide  this much-needed aid."    The sum total of all U.S. State Department and USAID aid provided to  all "people affected the fighting" - including both ethnic Armenians  and Azerbaijanis represents a tiny fraction of the billions in U.S.  emergency and humanitarian assistance distributed worldwide since the  start of the Biden Administration.    Below find the full text of the USAID response to questions raised by  Congresswoman Judy Chu, who has received an "A+" rating from the  ANCA.  Rep.  Chu joined Rep.  Jackie Speier (D-CA) in visiting  Artsakh in 2019, and saw first-hand the importance of U.S.-funded  demining efforts.  Most recently, Rep. Chu supported a broad range of  pro- Artsakh amendments to the FY2022 National Defense Authorization  Act (NDAA), including, one calling on the State Department for a  detailed report on all U.S. assistance to Artsakh and plans to expand  such aid.