EC gives €15 million for humanitarian aid

About two million Burundians will this year benefit from a €15-million (US $16.1 million) aid package from the EC, according to the commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO). In a statement issued on Friday in Brussels, ECHO said the funds would help meet humanitarian needs in the tiny central African state. ECHO said the funds, to be channelled through partner organisations working in the field, would target the most vulnerable population groups in the country, these being displaced people and their host communities, refugees, returnees, women and children. "Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and ECHO's intervention there is fully in line with the European Commission's strategy of prioritising support for victims of humanitarian crises," Poul Nielson, the EC commissioner responsible for ECHO, was quoted as saying. He said ECHO's priority areas comprised health, nutrition, food security, water, and sanitation and non-food items. Over the past four years, ECHO has allocated at least €61 million to Burundi, making it one of the largest donors of humanitarian aid to the country. ECHO said a series of civil conflicts in Burundi since 1993 had resulted in large population displacements and created serious humanitarian needs. "Some areas of the country are still highly volatile, while others are relatively stable and suitable for rehabilitation and development activities," ECHO said. However, it said: "The humanitarian situation in Burundi could deteriorate at any time. To ensure the most rapid and effective response, an emergency response capacity will be set up to monitor such emergencies as temporary population movements, epidemics and nutritional crises." According to ECHO, Burundi has been hosting several thousand Congolese refugees since September 2002, while 530,000 Burundians have sought refuge in Tanzania. ECHO said that the possibility of a mass repatriation from Tanzania would be closely monitored so that additional resources could be mobilised if need be.