United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Belgrade

Review of Urgent Assistance Needs for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Excluding Kosovo)

Winter/Spring 2000/2001

December 5, 2000

The quality and capacity of public services have been undermined during the past decade by economic decline, lack of reform and investment, economic sanctions, and the conflicts which accompanied the disintegration of Yugoslavia. These institutions, which are interlinked in the economic framework, are in urgent need of structural reform as part of a coherent plan to place public finances on a sustainable footing and promote economic development. This process will take years to achieve. In the very short-term quick, practical interventions can be made to meet immediate needs, maintain services at minimum standards and strengthen the reform process.

Within the energy sector the first priority is to maintain gas supply through the winter. While the Governments of FRY and Russia are negotiating to extend a supply contract, at this point there are insufficient funds to make payments on future imports. The energy sector has received significant international assistance to date, which translates into adequate overall supply into January and covers heating of priority institutions through most of the winter. However, the shortage of funding for the public energy supply systems beyond this point is important, particularly for February and March when temperatures can be very low. Technical failure of equipment in the electric power generation and distribution systems is also a significant concern; spare parts are urgently needed. Systems for electricity production in Montenegro should be closely monitored to determine additional supply needs and support in the event that production falls significantly below basic service demands.

Funding for food assistance is part of an ongoing humanitarian operation to which donors need to respond as in previous years for Serbia and Montenegro. Funding to revitalize the agriculture sector in Serbia (including fuel for farming and food processing) will also have beneficial effects on employment and food supply. In previous years surpluses of wheat flour and vegetable oil have been exported to fund imports of oil and gas.

The priorities in the health sector are intended to maintain the service at acceptable standard over the next six months during which time the process of analysis and reform can begin. Inputs will ensure adequate supplies of drugs and materials, functioning equipment and facilities and food for patients. Payment of arrears on the Health Insurance Fund could form part of an agreed structural reform process.

The approach is similar in the education sector; priorities are designed to ensure that schools are usable in winter and that minimum supplies are available.

The social welfare system is under strain. Eligibility criteria are conservative and numbers registered are reckoned to be a fraction of those in need. Even so, almost all payments are in arrears. Acknowledging this situation, humanitarian programmes (e.g. food assistance) have been extended to include some categories of social welfare beneficiaries and low-income pensioners. Because social welfare supports the most vulnerable in society, the payment of arrears is seen as an urgent need. This applies also to low-income pensioners. Opportunities should be taken to use any revenues generated from donor assistance (such as electricity imports) to complement direct support to the welfare sector.

The basic needs of the refugee and internally displaced person caseloads are included in the programmes of humanitarian agencies including the UN and Red Cross. While this group does have specific needs, their living conditions are also very much affected by conditions in public services and in the economy generally. These are described in detail in the UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Southeast Europe.

The needs described in this paper represent the best estimate of total immediate requirements for the next six months (December 2000-May 2001, with the exception of the energy sector, where estimates were provided only to the end of March. The total needs of nearly US$ 460 million also include the estimates for humanitarian programmes of the United Nations organizations for the first 5 months of 2001. These programmes are described in detail in the Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal 2001 for Southeastern Europe.

Next: 
Annex 1 - Charts (pdf, 48 KB) 
Annex 2 - Definitions of Sectors and Subsectors