The EU is providing a further €35 million in emergency aid to the most vulnerable people in the Sahel, a region facing the combined threat of armed conflict, food shortages, epidemics and climate shocks, the European Commission announced on Wednesday 13 November.
This financial package will enable ECHO’s humanitarian partner organisations (the Commission’s humanitarian aid department) in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger to scale up their operations to: – improve access to food, shelter and basic services, such as health care, personal protection and education; – assist people displaced by conflict in the region and their host communities; – prepare to respond quickly to needs in the event of a sudden humanitarian crisis.
“Many vulnerable communities in the Sahel region are facing hunger due to growing insecurity and conflict. Many more people rely on our humanitarian assistance for survival”, says Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, in a statement.
This additional aid brings the EU’s humanitarian effort for the Sahel populations to over €187 million in 2019. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)