At midday on Monday 11 September, the European Commission announced that in response to the scale of destruction in the third countries devastated by Hurricane Irma, the European Union has released €2 million in emergency humanitarian assistance. This is an initial amount of humanitarian assistance for the most vulnerable and it is based on the preliminary assessment of needs, the Commission states (see EUROPE 11858).
The funding is taken from the ECHO budget (the European Commission's department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations) and will enable humanitarian organisations (ECHO's partners on the ground) to provide emergency products and care for the most destitute in three small island states in the ACP group – Antigua and Barbuda, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
"This will help support key sectors such as water and sanitation, health, waste management, logistics", European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides announced, adding that longer-term assistance for reconstruction will also be provided when the time is right. This humanitarian assistance can be extended to other countries that need it.
"It is our moral duty to help those in need and whose life and home have been destroyed or seriously threatened. We stand in full solidarity with all those in the Caribbean and in the USA during and after the storm. For as long as it takes", Stylianides said.
He added that any country in the region can request assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. "We stand ready to provide any further assistance to the affected countries", he said.
The European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), which operates 24/7, has been in continuous contact with the authorities of the affected countries. At midday on Monday, none of the three EU member states affected by this devastating hurricane (France, the UK or the Netherlands) had activated the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism to request assistance and thus be able to benefit from the civil protection resources available for any country participating in the mechanism. The Commission then finances up to 85% of transport costs. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)