Brussels, 03/07/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has approved emergency aid worth EUR 800,000 to the populations of Mongolia affected by drought and a hard winter. The aid, to be channelled through ECHO (European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office), will allow non-governmental ECHO partner organisations, Ost (Denmark) and Save the Children (UK), to deliver emergency food aid to some 60,000 persons living in the north-western part of the country and to prevent malnutrition in central Mongolia over the next six months. These two projects will be implemented in close coordination with other humanitarian agencies (Red Cross, United Nations, etc.) and with the government. In April, ECHO had already made EUR 500,000 available to the International Red Cross, which cooperates with the Red Cross in Mongolia.