The European Commission (EC) on Thursday announced its approval of 20 million Euros (about US $20.5 million) for humanitarian operations in the DRC until the end of the year. Channelled through the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) this funding will enable NGOs and the UNHCR to deliver emergency assistance to vulnerable populations in the DRC over the next eight months, an EC press release stated. The focus of the assistance given would be on support to health centres, epidemiological surveillance, water and sanitation, nutritional programmes and the rehabilitation of basic infrastructure, the Commission said. This would include, in particular, maintenance of 45,000 Angolan refugees, nutrition programmes for vulnerable groups in urban settings and specific rural areas, support for recently-displaced families and those displaced ready to return home. It would also involve support for an ongoing emergency health programme in Kisangani in the wake of last month’s clashes between Rwandan and Ugandan forces in the city.
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