Brussels, 08/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Vulnerable people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where access by humanitarian aid is the most difficult, will be able to count on additional humanitarian flights by ECHO Flight, the special humanitarian air transport service of the European Commission. Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, who is currently in the DRC (see EUROPE 10567), announced on Thursday 8 March that additional funding of €4 million would be made in 2012 to improve access by ECHO partner humanitarian organisations for the remotest parts of the country.
Helicopters will airlift aid when overland access or access by normal air transport is impossible. “We cannot help if we don't have access to the people who need our help. In the DRC, access is a real problem - relief is often most needed in remote areas and by displaced people. This is why it is essential to enable our humanitarian partners to reach the places where they are most needed”, the commissioner said after having visited several projects financed by the Commission in South Kivu (to the east of the country).
The decision to make additional funding brings the European Commission's humanitarian aid to the DRC to more than €60 million in 2012. ECO Flight operates from Goma and Bunia in the DRC and Nairobi in Kenya. Last year, the Commission allocated €10 million for such flights. This has enabled the transport of 18,826 passengers, along with 378 tonnes of humanitarian cargo supporting around 280 aid projects in the DRC and Kenya. (AN/transl.jl)