ECHO increases humanitarian assistance

The European Commission (EC) has added a further Euro 25 million (about US $27 million) to its humanitarian aid package for Southern Africa. Countries in the region have been badly affected by a combination of erratic weather, the impact of HIV/AIDS and the collapse of social services. As a result, millions people are in need of food and other humanitarian aid. "The funds will help meet the food, water, sanitation and health needs of vulnerable people in nine countries," and EC statement said. The money would be channelled through the EC Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), under Commissioner Poul Nielson. "Millions of people in Southern Africa are facing a desperate situation and the Commission is firmly committed to helping them. The humanitarian aid provided by ECHO goes impartially to those who need it most irrespective of their nationality, ethnic origin, gender or religion," Neilson was quoted as saying. Adding to the need for humanitarian assistance in Southern Africa was the large scale repatriation of refugees, the resettlement of internally displaced people and widespread poverty. "Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique, in particular, face major food deficits. In Angola, the ending of the ... civil war has revealed enormous post-conflict needs with hundreds of thousands of displaced people waiting to return home," the EC noted. The latest funding would enable the EC to help vulnerable populations in Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. In the area of food security, the funding will assist in: getting emergency food aid to vulnerable groups, in particular, malnourished children; providing logistical support for food aid operations; and emergency agricultural rehabilitation work. In the water, sanitation and health sectors, a range of urgent interventions such as nutritional surveillance would be funded. The funding would also go towards providing "emergency aid for refugees, internally displaced people and returnees with an emphasis on durable solutions including access to health and education, and support for farming activities". It would also be used to provide "concrete support for the coordination of the international humanitarian effort", the EC said. The programmes would be implemented by ECHO partners working in Southern Africa - United Nations agencies, members of the Red Cross family and NGOs. "This funding is in addition to the €13 million [about US $14 million] provided by the Commission in May to assist the victims of the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. Since 2001, ECHO has provided more than €86 million [about US $93.5 million] in humanitarian aid to Southern Africa," the EC noted.