DART Successes
A Track Record of Success. USAID DART teams have deployed
across the globe in response to natural disasters and complex emergencies,
bringing humanitarian assistance to such places as Angola, El Salvador,
Turkey, Mozambique, Kosovo, Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti, and Northern
Iraq. Since 1990, USAID has responded with $2.2 billion to more than
870 disasters worldwide, including civil wars, acts of terrorism, earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, cyclones, floods, droughts, fires, and disease outbreaks.
Examples include:
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Afghanistan. Even before the tragic events of
September 11, 2001, USAID had a DART team deployed to Central Asia
to assist with the emergency needs of the Afghan people suffering
from 22 years of civil war and three years of drought. After Afghanistan
was liberated from Taliban rule, the DART team worked with the Afghan
Interim Authority to successfully avert a famine during the harsh
winter.
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Angola. In April 2002, immediately following the
ceasefire agreement ending civil war in Angola, USAID experts in
humanitarian assistance were on the ground assessing emergency needs,
distributing relief commodities, and providing our partners with
grant funding to support demobilization and a consolidation of the
peace.
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Armenia. In December 1988, the cities in northwestern
Armenia were struck by a devastating earthquake, causing extensive
loss of life and property and leaving more than half a million people
homeless. USAID DART teams assessed the needs of the region and
provided humanitarian and relief assistance at the epicenter of
the disaster.
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Central America. Before Hurricane Mitch tore through
six countries in Central America in October 1998, leaving up to
10,000 dead and affecting more than 3.6 million people, an interagency
DART was pre-positioned along the storm's forecasted path with relief
commodities and disaster experts to lead the most significant response
ever by the U.S. government to a natural disaster overseas. The
emergency response was quickly followed by rehabilitation and reconstruction
assistance to restore public services, agricultural production,
and economic livelihoods.
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India. When a severe earthquake struck western
India in January 2001 killing more than 20,000 people and affecting
nearly 16 million, USAID had a DART team of disaster specialists
on the ground responding to emergency needs within 24 hours.
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