EU announces €77mn in aid for Horn of Africa
The EU on Thursday announced it would provide €77 million ($83.9 million) in humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa region in 2016.
The aid is to address the most urgent needs of displaced populations, mostly in Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan.
The announcement was made by EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Styllandies while on a visit to Kenya’s Dadaab Refugee camp – the largest in the world, according to UN statistics–which is home to more than 350,000 refugees.
Styllandies said that the Somali refugees at the Dadaab refugee camp were in urgent need of humanitarian aid and would be among the first to benefit from the aid.
“Today I traveled to Dadaab, where the first Somali refugees found shelter from conflict and hunger 25 years ago. I witnessed the immense needs of families whose lives have been changed forever,”Styllandies said.
“These people rely on our humanitarian assistance. I was also touched by the hospitality shown by the Kenyan people. No country can cope alone with the provision of essential services to so many refugees. We need to strengthen the resilience of both forcibly displaced populations and host communities,” he added.
The EU said that out of the €77 million, €17 million ($18.5 million) will aid in providing food, better sanitation and improved hygiene, water, healthcare, education and shelter for vulnerable communities in Kenya.
The EU has set aside €29 million ($31.6 million) for war-torn Somalia, and Ethiopia will also receive €25 million ($27.2 million).
The remaining funds will be distributed to Uganda and Djibouti, and a small portion will be set aside for regional disaster risk reduction.
El Nino rains pounding East Africa have resulted in floods in the south, and severe drought in the north of the Horn of Africa region.
By the end of 2015, over 150,000 people had been displaced by floods in the Horn of Africa region while 340,000 were affected by drought, according to UN statistics.
World Bulletin / News Desk