Brussels, 29/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - As help is beginning to flow into Nepal, Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, left for that country of devastation on the afternoon of Wednesday 29 April to join Commission experts who have been on the ground there since the day after the earthquake, and to express solidarity with the survivors.
The joint mission that Stylianides is to carry out with Valerie Amos, who is in charge of coordinating United Nations humanitarian operations, also aims to assess the needs of the population that now finds itself deprived of the barest necessities, and to coordinate humanitarian aid.
“European experts, assets and funds are already making a difference in the crucial early days of the response. I will assess the situation on the ground and determine how Europe can best continue to help in this hour of need. I will also express the solidarity of the people and the institutions of Europe with the Nepalese people and their government: a solidarity they need so badly at this time”, the commissioner told reporters prior to his departure. On that same occasion, he expressed words of sympathy with the people of Nepal but also with the people of India, Bangladesh and China who have not been spared by the tragedy.
An enormous humanitarian crisis. Commending the Nepalese government that “is doing everything it can”, the commissioner went on to add: “It needs our aid in assistance and rescue efforts. The humanitarian crisis is enormous. Huge international commitment is needed. The EU is fully committed. We have a moral obligation to be so”.
Over 8 million people have been affected by the earthquake that has killed over 5,000 and injured more than 10,000, according to the latest provisional figures. “Unfortunately these figures will increase due to the aftershocks”, the commissioner warned, announcing that ten European experts in humanitarian aid and civil protection have now arrived on the spot to swell the ranks of those already at work there.
A coordinated response. So far, 15 European countries have made material assistance and rescue teams available via the EU civil protection mechanism (Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, France, Finland, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and also Norway). Given the enormous scale of the needs, it is clear that the EU will have to mobilise more funding than the €3 million in initial emergency aid disbursed by the Commission as an immediate response to cover the essential needs of the victims of the disaster (see EUROPE 11303) and the roughly €25 million made available by the member states. “We are willing to do more”, said Stylianides. The Commission is working in close cooperation with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and partner humanitarian organisations.
Emergency and beyond. “After the emergency phase, Nepal will need long-term aid”, the commissioner warned, working closely on this with Neven Mimica, the European commissioner for development. “Needs are considerable. We shall remain on the spot as long as it is necessary. Solidarity is needed over the long term. The responsibility to provide assistance is collective. The EU will continue to do everything it can to help, in close cooperation with the Nepalese authorities and the international organisations”, Stylianides said. (Aminata Niang)