EU releases humanitarian aid to Africa

Apr 17, 2017: The European Commission has recently announced humanitarian assistance to help people in need in the Great Lakes, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean regions. Due to natural disasters and widespread food insecurity people of this region are facing conflict and displacement.

The total humanitarian assistance announced is over 47 million Euros out of which 32 million Euros will be given in the Great Lakes region including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. While 15 million Euros will go to the southern African and Indian  Ocean region including Madagascar, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho.

Christos Stylianides, commissioner, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said, "We stand in full solidarity with the people of Africa. The assistance announced 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."

The Democratic Republic of Congo will receive the main bulk of the funding allocated for the Great Lakes region. More than 2 million people in Congo remain displaced by internal conflict and are many of them suffering from malnutrition. 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 recently.

More than 4,00,000 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.