Brussels, 05/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - On 5 March, the European Commission adopted a 35 million euro programme for the growing humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the number of displaced persons and refugees currently exceeds 2 million. A Commission press release, that states that this decision will enable the Commission's Humanitarian Office, Echo, to maintain assistance supplied to the victims of the conflicts raging in the country, a member of the ACP Group, throughout the current year, stipulates that the programme has four priorities: - a standing response capacity for both medical and non-medical emergencies, including epidemiological surveillance and a rapid reaction system (2.75 million euro); - public health care (including preventive measures) in 102 strategically chosen health districts covering around one third of the country (13.66 million euro); care and maintenance for 40,000 recently-arrived refugees from Angola and 100,000 returnees in the north-west of the country (4.2 million euro); - an integrated nutrition, food aid and food security programme, targeting 75,000 malnourished children and their families (11.7 million euro).