IP/06/1087
Brussels, 4 August 2006
Eritrea: Commission gives €6 million for humanitarian aid The European Commission has allocated €6 million in humanitarian aid to help vulnerable people in Eritrea faced with declining livelihoods, climatic hazards and conflict. Eritrea is confronted with huge challenges due to years of chronic drought, desertification, poor infrastructure and continued insecurity along the border with Ethiopia. More than half of the population is threatened by hunger and extreme poverty. Every second woman and every second child is chronically malnourished, according to UNICEF. With its donation, the Commission seeks to address their immediate acute needs for water, food and basic healthcare. Beneficiaries are rural populations throughout the country. The aid also covers livestock support and assistance for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Eritrea further benefits from humanitarian aid the Commission is providing in response to the drought in the Greater Horn of Africa. The Commission's total response to drought in the region since 2005 is €88 million (see IP/06/775). “Eritrea's challenges are huge. It is currently the most food-aid dependent country in the world and its people have been hit by recurring droughts in recent years," said Louis Michel, the European Commissioner responsible for Development and Humanitarian Aid. He continued: "From a humanitarian standpoint, the immediate challenge is to improve the health and nutritional status of those most at risk. The Commission's humanitarian aid addresses these acute needs. However, it is restricted to an ad hoc approach based on whether the relief agencies are able to access the needy locations and deliver the assistance. I invite the Eritrean government to facilitate the work of humanitarian actors as much as possible - for the sake of the country's most vulnerable people.”
Background
Eritrea is not able to cover its annual national food consumption needs, despite better harvests in 2005 than in 2004. It is classified as a structural food deficit country. Since 2004, the Commission has adopted four humanitarian aid decisions concerning Eritrea for a total of €11.62 million, including today's allocation. The humanitarian interventions are implemented by non-governmental relief organisations and specialized UN agencies. All funds are channelled through the Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department, ECHO, under the responsibility of Louis Michel.
For further information: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm
