Health sector to get bulk of €35 million ECHO aid

Most of the €35-million (US $ 40.4 million) in humanitarian aid that the European Commission has set aside this year for the Democratic Republic of the Congo will go to the health sector, the commission's Humanitarian Aid Office, ECHO, reported on Wednesday. The ECHO Regional Support Office said that €14 million ($16.2 million) had already been disbursed. The money is being used to treat 60,000 "acutely malnourished" children, ECHO said, and provide their families with food, seeds and tools in an attempt to overcome the causes of malnutrition. ECHO said some 115,000 families "with malnourished or otherwise vulnerable" children would be helped in 2003. In addition, ECHO is providing medicine, training and supervision to the country's public health system. "Specific action is also being taken on Mother and child healthcare, reproductive health, malaria, emergency obstetrics and secure blood transfusion," ECHO reported. It said token fees were being charged so as to encourage the needy to seek help. Due to the low fees, ECHO said, this year it expected to help some 4.5 million people in 55 of the country's 306 health districts. Some of these health districts are areas still in conflict in the east of the country, ECHO said.