Brussels, 27/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has adopted an overall humanitarian aid plan in favour of Zimbabwe, with an envelope of €8 million for 2007. The funds, which will be taken from the budget of ECHO, the Commission's humanitarian aid service, are designed to attenuate the effect on the population of the ongoing crisis in the country, as a result of bad governance, an economy in decline with the highest rate of inflation in the entire world, a pandemic of HIV and AIDS, a lack of food safety and unreliable weather conditions. The aid will be concentrated on the groups of the population which have been the worst hit by the crisis, such as sufferers from HIV and AIDS, orphans and other vulnerable children, the elderly, widows, households whose head of family is a child, and internally displaced persons. The aid projects will be implemented by ECHO's partner organisations on the ground (NGOs, specialist agencies of the United Nations, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement). ECHO, which has an office in Harare, is keeping a close eye on the humanitarian situation and will help to coordinate rescue operations and monitor the use of the funds. The financial package for the overall annual humanitarian aid plan comes on top of food aid (€8 million) to Zimbabwe, bringing the total emergency aid granted by the Commission to this country in 2007 to €18 million. (an)