EC provides five million euros for drought relief

The European Commission (EC) is to provide five million euros (US $6.1 million) to help feed up to 3.5 million drought-affected Kenyans, including 500,000 school children, EC Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, said on Monday. "The lack of rain in parts of East Africa has put the livelihoods of millions of people at risk. The problem is not the lack of food. It's just that many farmers face losing their cattle and are just too poor to buy the food that is available," Michel said in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. In February, the Kenyan government, UN agencies and NGOs appealed for $245 million to help the country's drought-affected populations. An estimated 11 million people in several East Africa and the Horn of Africa countries are currently suffering from the effects of a severe drought brought on by several consecutive seasons of failed rains. Speaking at the 11th summit of Heads of State and Government from the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) countries, Michel stressed the importance of employing a regional strategy to bring peace, security and development to the Horn of Africa. This, he added, required "frank political dialogue". He encouraged IGAD - which comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda - to develop better early warning systems and rapid response mechanisms. "This region has been afflicted for far too long by the ills of extreme poverty, violent conflict and cross-border issues," he said. "It is my firm belief that together you have an opportunity to shape the destiny of this region for the better." The donation brings the EC's total response to the food crisis in the Horn of Africa to 78 million euros ($95 million), with seven million euros ($8.5 million) going to Kenya. A further 4.6 million euros ($5.6 million) has been earmarked for longer-term aid to the East African nation. The IGAD summit was attended by presidents Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Umar al-Bashir of Sudan, Omar Ismail Guelleh of Djibouti, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed of Somalia, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and a delegation from Eritrea. The meeting was due to discuss the situation in Sudan, the Ethiopia-Eritrea border tension, Somalia and the setting up of an emergency fund to help fight drought and hunger in the Horn of Africa.