On Friday 1 September, the European Commission announced that in solidarity with the Asian people who have suffered severely from devastating floods, the EU has released €2 million in emergency humanitarian aid to assist the most vulnerable sections of the population.
This funding is earmarked from the Commission’s humanitarian aid and civil protection (ECHO) budget. It will help humanitarian organisations and ECHO partners working on the ground to provide people affected by the flooding with vital aid – food, drinking water, hygiene products, tents and other priority products.
The commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, Christos Stylianides, explained in a press release that the aid is “for the most vulnerable people affected in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal”.
Around 25,000 people in flooded areas in India are expected to benefit, as well as around 35,000 people in Nepal. In Bangladesh and Burma, the aid will go to the victims of tropical storms. This emergency humanitarian aid comes on top of the €53 million aid envelope to help reduce the risk of disaster in the whole region – a region which has paid a heavy price in natural disasters and extreme weather conditions. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)