Brussels, 28/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to allocate EUR 12 million to the global humanitarian aid plan for Zimbabwe in 2006. The aim of the plan is to reduce the extreme vulnerability of the population groups that are particularly severely affected by the deep and persistent crisis in this country that is prey to a declining economy, pandemic HIV/AIDS (one adult out of five being seropositive), food supply insecurity and erratic weather conditions. The funding, which comes from the budget of the Commission's humanitarian aid service, ECHO, should make it possible to cover immediate needs in food safety, to ensure the link with long-term recovery programmes, improve access to drinking water and basic sanitation structures, and meet the most urgent food and non-food needs of the persons displaced within the country - including former farm workers and the victims of the urban “cleansing” policy practised by the government in 2005.
We recall that the EU Council has decided to extend by one year the measures restricting aid to EU development in Zimbabwe to the direct support of the population. These restrictive measures were imposed in February 2002 pursuant to Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement. Since then, the Commission has earmarked around EUR 68.8 million to Zimbabwe for humanitarian aid.