Some 15,000 people will each receive a delivery of sugar, oil, tea, hygiene items, bed linen and towels. The distributions are due to be completed by 20 November and will cover eight regions of Chechnya and four districts in the Chechen capital of Grozny.

The ICRC has been working in Chechnya since the outbreak of the first conflict in 1994, providing food and other aid to thousands of people in the Chechen Republic and to internally displaced persons in neighbouring Ingushetia and Dagestan.

In light of Chechnya's progress with reconstruction and economic recovery, the ICRC has been shifting its assistance efforts towards enabling vulnerable residents to earn a living and become self-reliant. High unemployment remains a major obstacle to financial independence in the region, prompting the ICRC to launch a series of micro-economic projects in 2005.

The aim is to enable vulnerable residents to start their own small businesses and reduce their dependency on humanitarian aid. Examples of ICRC-funded projects include shoe repair, baking, wool processing and home-based dressmaking. The ICRC plans to support 800 such initiatives in the region next year.

Lyudmila is one of those receiving this last delivery of humanitarian assistance in Chechnya. "The final distribution of rations will make a big difference, especially for people who have no permanent source of income, but I hope that I will be able to take part in the ICRC programmes to help people become self-sufficient."

The ICRC's 2007 budget for the Russian Federation is more than 23 million US dollars, of which 18.5 million dollars is allocated to humanitarian operations in the northern Caucasus. The ICRC has 20 international staff and nearly 300 national employees in the Russian Federation.