To address growing humanitarian crises around the world, the European Commission has adopted an initial humanitarian budget of €1.5 billion, putting it at the forefront of global efforts in this area, the institution said on Monday 17 January.
Out of this envelope: €469 million will be allocated to sub-Saharan Africa to address food, nutrition and other basic needs of vulnerable populations in countries in conflict; €351 million will go to countries in the Middle East and North Africa; €152 million will fund projects in South East Europe and the European neighbourhood; €188 million will continue to help the most vulnerable populations in Asia and Latin America.
€370 million will be used to respond to unforeseen crises or sudden exacerbations of existing crises and to finance other actions.
“Humanitarian needs are at an all-time high and continue to grow. This is mainly due to conflicts, but increasingly to global challenges such as climate change and Covid-19”, comments Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič in a statement.
Asked about aid to Afghanistan, a Commission spokesman, Balazs Ujvari, said on Monday that of the €300 million in humanitarian aid committed in 2021 (out of the €1 billion in aid announced in October at the G20 - see EUROPE 12829/18), more than €220 million had been mobilised and that “work is underway to allocate the remainder”, on the understanding that the Commission is “ready to go beyond the planned budget, if need be”.
In a Communication adopted in March, which called for the recalibration of humanitarian action, the European Commission proposed to strengthen the impact of the humanitarian aid of the EU and its Member States in cooperation with partners in the international community in the context of a global humanitarian funding gap (see EUROPE 12675/1). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)