Emma Bonino, European Commissioner for humanitarian aid, will visit European Unionfunded emergency aid projects in Cuba and Haiti on a mission starting Wednesday, May 17.

"I'm going to these Caribbean countries because I want to see the situation for myself at a time when they are experiencing major changes," said Bonino. "I want to assess at first hand how our projects are being implemented, and to find out what can be done to make them more effective."

Bonino is scheduled to visit Cuba May 17-20, Haiti May 21-22, United Nations Headquarters in New York on May 22, and to stop in Washington before returning to Brussels on May 26. This is her third mission to see humanitarian aid in action. She has already visited Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire, as well as ex-Yugoslavia.

New aid package for Haiti

On the eve of Bonino's departure, the Commission announced a humanitarian aid package worth 6 million Ecu for Haiti. The return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide last September and the lifting of an embargo have signalled a new lease of life for one of the poorest countries in the world.

But the years of dictatorship and the embargo have taken a heavy toll on the country's 6.7 million people. Infant mortality in Haiti is among the highest in the world, and life expectancy among the shortest. Two-thirds of the population are unemployed, and half of Haiti's people get less than 75 percent of the optimal calorie intake per day. A fifth of the nation's children suffer from malnutrition.

This European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) programme of emergency aid is intended to help the country sustain momentum in rebuilding the economy, and in achieving stable democracy. It will be carried out in partnership with major specialist non-governmental organisations including Medecins sans Frontieres and the International Committee of the Red Cross. It will last eight months, and there are 19 coordinated actions in all. The priorities are:

* Medical aid: Support for primary healthcare projects, supply of essential drugs and medical supplies, vaccination programmes, anti-epidemic campaigns. Logistical support.

* Food aid: feeding programmes, diet supplements for children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. Logistical support.

* Public health: Provision of safe drinking water supplies in both urban and rural areas - pursuit of emergency action started last year.

This programme follows up the action ECHO launched in October 1994, which involved 23 NGOs in a coordinated programme worth 12 million Ecu. EU aid to Haiti since 1991 totals 24 million Ecu to date, including this decision.

After travelling to Cuba and Haiti, Commissioner Bonino will visit the United States. In New York, she will meet senior officials at the United Nations, while in Washington she will meet top officials from the State Department and key Congressmen in order to discuss ways of furthering cooperation between the EU and the United States over humanitarian aid.