Brussels, 12/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - €35 million will be allocated this year for disaster prevention, attenuation and preparedness programmes (DIPECHO) benefitting millions of people from the most vulnerable and poorest communities in Central America, Central Asia and the Caucasus region, South-East Asia and Southern Africa, the European Commission announced on Thursday 12 July.
“Experience shows that simple measures for disaster-preparedness like early warning alerts, elevated homes or providing boats can make all the difference between saving and losing lives, homes and livelihoods”, said European International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva in a press release.
These new funds will go to the following regions particularly vulnerable to natural disasters: €10 million to Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama), €11 million to South East Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, East Timor and Vietnam, Burma/Myanmar and Thailand), €8 million to Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and the Caucasus region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) and € 6 million in Southern Africa (Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Namibia).
The DIPECHO programme seeks to reduce the impact of natural disasters including floods, hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes, tidal waves/tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, forest fires and storms by strengthening the response capacity of local communities and national authorities. The projects include reinforcing infrastructure, training, awareness-raising, establishing or improving local early-warning systems and contingency-planning. (AN/transl.rt)