Brussels, 08/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has adopted a global humanitarian aid plan worth €15 million for vulnerable people affected by longer-lasting crises in the Sahel region in Africa. These relief funds, channelled through ECHO, will reduce acute malnutrition and mortality among those who are most vulnerable, in particular the estimated 1.3 million acutely malnourished children under the age of five, as well as five million pregnant and breast-feeding women in five countries - Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. €10 million have already been made available this year under the food aid budget to respond to short-term nutritional needs in the Sahel.
The global humanitarian aid plan complements longer term development aid provided by the Commission to remedy the underlying causes of malnutrition in the Sahel. (an)