Brussels, 17/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission adopted an intervention plan totalling EUR 6.7 million in favour of humanitarian aid projects that will be undertaken this year in Ethiopia. This plans foresees an assistance to the victims of the drought and the victims of the border conflict with Eritrea, and the supply of a repatriation aid to Somali refugees, which have been situated in Ethiopia since the beginning of the 1990s.
Threes successive years of insufficient rains, associated to fundamental structural deficiencies and the inadequacy of local abilities, have lead to serious water and foodstuff shortages in Southern Ethiopia. This situation is exacerbated by the resumption of war with neighbouring Eritrea. This conflict has lead to a dilapidation of extremely rare resources and blocks assistance to the people affected by the drought. It is also the cause of the displacement of some 270,000 people living in the north of the country.
The humanitarian aid decided upon by the Commission will be channelled through ECHO, the EU humanitarian office, and passed on to its partners (United Nations agencies, NGOs, ICRC). With regards to the victims of the drought, the effort mainly concerns the nomad pastures, for most of the displaces and disenfranchised. In fact this concerns improving nutritional monitoring, promoting a basic health support structure for the main child diseases and to support the veterinary services in order to protect the remaining cattle. Concerning the displaced persons, the priority is to distribute food; moreover, resources have been foreseen to ensure the protection of prisoners of war and detained or deported people, and offer them support. Finally, repatriation aid is also foreseen for the refugees that have come from Somalia over the previous decade.