Brussels, 05/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to grant one million euros in emergency humanitarian aid to some 350,000 people hit by floods in Bolivia, a result of the El Niño phenomenon.
The funds, which will be taken from the budget of ECHO, the European Commission's humanitarian aid service, will be made available by the emergency procedure to pay for shelter, distributing food rations and vital household goods, and access for the populations to basic services such as drinking water, cleansing and first aid. This funding decision is based on an assessment of fundamental needs, which was carried out on the ground by an ECHO expert.
Of the whole of the Bolivian territory, the Beni region has been hardest hit, with 130,000 people affected out of a population of 430,000. In the capital, La Paz, alone, more than 14,000 displaced persons are currently being housed in temporary accommodation, and there is every danger that this number will rise. (an)