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EC gives €5 m for drought-affected people

    NAIROBI

    The European Commission has allocated €5 (US $6 million) to assist some 5.6 million drought-affected people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

    "Starvation threatens if we don't act quickly," said Louis Michel, European commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, in a statement on Wednesday.

    "[The funds] will be used immediately to provide urgently needed water, food and basic healthcare as well as to support the livestock that most people in the region rely upon," he added.

    "The plight of the Horn of Africa will continue to get our full attention,” Michel said.

    "The long rains are due in May, but if they don’t come, we could be facing a terrible situation for which we must be prepared," he noted. "That is why we propose to earmark further funding of almost €40 million [$48 million] in the coming weeks and months, taking the total to €112.6 million [$135 million]."

    The commission has already allocated €73 million ($87.4 million) to drought-related interventions in response to the current crisis in the region. It provides relief assistance as well as support aimed at tackling the effects of the drought in the medium and longer term.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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