Norwegian Refugee Council spends $10m on projects in Azerbaijan

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
April 21 2005

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Baku office has spent $10 million
on various projects in Azerbaijan so far, head of the office Berit
Olsen told a news conference on Monday dedicated to the 10-year
activity of the NRC office in the country.

Olsen said the NRC office will rehabilitate 8 public buildings and 8
schools and improve living standards of 2,500 internally displaced
persons (IDPs) in Azerbaijan in 2005. Fifteen houses in Gadabay
District bordering on Armenia will be restored for their residents to
return home, she said.
Olsen noted that the NRC will implement a series of projects in
Azerbaijan this year, such as the “Dentistry assistance program” for
Azeri children. Another project called “Teaching human rights” worth
$383,000 envisages stepping up human rights awareness in the
country’s schools attended by refugees and IDPs.
Olsen pointed out that the Council also plans to realize an education
and food distribution program for Chechen children settled in
Azerbaijan within the “Teaching human rights” project. According to
NRC estimates, there were 583 Chechen children, born between 1987 and
1998, in Baku as of March 2005.
The Norwegian Refugee Council, operating in Azerbaijan since 1995,
was founded in Oslo in 1946 to provide assistance to refugees and
IDPs and step up their protection internationally. The NRC has
assisted 75,000 displaced persons, refugees and local residents in
the country thus far.