Brussels, 16/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission had approved the granting of 15 million euro humanitarian aid for Sudan. These funds will be directed through Echo (the Community's Humanitarian Office) in the framework of an intervention plan for the country's benefit which is entering into its eighteenth year of civil war. Like previous years, the goal of the aid is to reduce the level of mortality among the most vulnerable categories of the population and promote, where possible, increased self-reliance in this war-torn society. Actions funded by Echo will focus on health, water/sanitation, food security, non-food relief and logistical support both in government-controlled and rebel-held areas.
In the year 2000, the fragile security in Sudan rendered humanitarian workers particularly vulnerable. In a press release, the Commission stresses that the success of Echo measures, covered by the financing, and of its future interventions, is largely dependent on the security conditions offered to humanitarian personnel, as well as the possibility offered to it to reach the populations in need.