EC approves €35 million for humanitarian aid

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is scheduled this year to receive €35 million (US $37.8 million) worth of humanitarian aid from the EC. The EC approved the funding on Tuesday. In a statement issued in Brussels, the EC said the funds would be channelled by the EC Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) through partner organisations working in the field. "ECHO funds will be used to treat some 60,000 acutely malnourished children, while addressing the causes of malnutrition by providing their families with food, seeds and tools. About 115,000 families with malnourished or otherwise vulnerable children will be assisted in this way," the commission said. "ECHO always aims to provide humanitarian assistance on an equitable, needs-driven basis. The DRC programme has been one of our biggest in recent years, because the needs there are so great," Poul Nielson, the EC commissioner responsible for ECHO, said. He said ECHO would in 2003 focus more on front-line humanitarian priorities such as health and food. The EC said ECHO would continue to support the public health system in the DRC through the provision of drugs, training and supervision. "Specific action will also be taken on mother and child health care, reproductive health, malaria, emergency obstetrics and secure blood transfusion." ECHO aims to assist some 4.5 million people in 55 health districts in 2003. Over the past five years, ECHO has allocated just under €120 million to the DRC, making it the country's largest donor of humanitarian aid. Despite recent progress on the political and military fronts, the EC said the DRC was still plagued by instability. "Humanitarian needs are as great as ever, and Congolese continue to die in large numbers, with mortality rates approaching five times the sub-Saharan norm in some front-line areas," it said. "The main killers are not bullets and machetes, but malaria and malnutrition, owing to the breakdown of food production and basic health services," the commission said.