U.S. to give Indonesia S$3.83m aid for haze

The United States will contribute an initial US$2.75 million (S$3.83 million) to help Indonesia cope with the country’s worst haze crisis in years, said its ambassador to Indonesia yesterday.

“This assistance is part of the United States’ wider effort to support Indonesian activities to suppress forest fires and to mitigate their effects on human health, as well as to support Indonesian government efforts to prevent future forest fires,” said ambassador Robert O Blake, Jr.

The package will provide immediate assistance to populations affected by haze and smoke, improve the effectiveness of current fire suppression efforts and address the impact of the fires on vulnerable populations, said the embassy in the statement.

The assistance package includes funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help Indonesia expand the ability of healthcare centres to respond to haze-related respiratory illnesses and support efforts to raise awareness of the hazards associated with haze in the region.

The funds will also provide equipment and protective gear to ground-based firefighters and will support a team of US Forest Service technical advisers arriving in Indonesia to provide wildfire support.