Brussels, 31/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has allocated €5 million in humanitarian aid to vulnerable people in Ethiopia affected by conflicts, climatic hazards as well as public health hazards.
In this Horn of Africa country, droughts followed by floods have increased the vulnerability of the people to waterborne diseases such as cholera. The most malaria-prone African country, Ethiopia also had to deal with measles and meningitis epidemics in 2006. Diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections are the main causes of early death among children.
Funding comes from the ECHO budget (the Commission's humanitarian aid department) and will be used to provide humanitarian assistance to 750,000 vulnerable people. It will finance emergency aid in the sectors of health, water, sanitation and protection.
“We continue responding to emergency humanitarian needs in areas where the national institutions cannot provide sufficient assistance”, stressed Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel, pointing out that the Commission is one of the main fund contributors.
Partners of ECHO (NGOs, specialised UN agencies and the Red Cross/Crescent movements) will implement the aid projects on the ground. An ECHO office in Addis Ababa will contribute to the coordination of rescue operations and will closely monitor the humanitarian situation.
The new allocation brings to €14.5 million total humanitarian aid allocated by the Commission to Ethiopia since 2005. Ethiopia has also been allocated €15 million in food aid in 2007 and benefits from €10 million in humanitarian aid to improve drought preparedness in the seven Horn of Africa countries. (an)