Brussels, 20/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission released EUR 900,000 of aid from its Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), €400,000 for the victims of drought in Haiti and €500,000 to strengthen the Red Cross' capacity in the Caribbean. The aid will be implemented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Haiti and by the Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) of the International Red Cross Federation in the Caribbean. “The European Commission has been active in the region for many years. It has granted €13.9 million in humanitarian aid following the socio-economic crisis and the natural disasters which hit Haiti in 2004 and again this year. The rest of the Caribbean has been allocated almost €9 million since 2004, used exclusively to respond to natural disasters. Putting European solidarity into action remains crucial for these very vulnerable countries”, said Commissioner Louis Michel.
From November 2004 to April 2005, southern Haiti was hit by a drought which seriously affected end-of-year harvests and the damage caused by Hurricane Dennis last week means emergency aid is needed. The EU aid will provide support in the form of seeds and equipment to farmers in southern Haiti. The hurricane season was particularly severe across the Caribbean in 2004. EU aid to the Red Cross will focus on training, technical support and equipment in order to better respond to natural disasters. Further information on humanitarian aid programmes in Haiti can be found at: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/echo/field/haiti/index_en.htm