By Godfrey Olukya 11-4-2017
The European Commission has today announced in a press release humanitarian assistance to help people in need in the Great Lakes and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean regions, who continue to face the consequences of years of conflict and displacement, as well as widespread food insecurity and natural disasters.
Of the €47 million announced, €32 will go to populations in the Great Lakes region – including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, while €15 million will go to the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region, including Madagascar, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho.
“We stand in full solidarity with the people of Africa. The assistance announced today will help the millions affected by forced displacement, food insecurity, and natural disasters in the Great Lakes region and in the Southern part of the continent. The EU remains committed to help people in need wherever they are and to leave no one behind,” said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides.
Humanitarian partners in Democratic republic of Congo , where more than 2 million people remain displaced by internal conflict and where malnutrition is high, will receive the main bulk (€22.7 million) of the funding allocated for the Great Lakes region. The regional impact of the Burundi crisis will also be covered.
In Southern Africa and Indian Ocean, funds will go towards helping those affected by food insecurity caused by prolonged drought, as well as to strengthening capacities to manage recurrent disasters.
The largest part (€6.2 million) of the package will go to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable in Madagascar, which was hit by the tropical cyclone Enawo last month – one of the most powerful cyclones to have affected the country during the last ten years.
This has put a serious additional strain on the country which has also been struggling to cope with the effects of the El Niño related food insecurity crisis. More than 400 000 people have been affected by the cyclone, some of whom remain displaced to date. In the aftermath, the EU released additional funding to help strengthen logistics capacity and to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need.
END
