EU humanitarian aid to Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua

The European Commission has granted €2 million of humanitarian aid for vulnerable communities in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua suffering from food shortages. The aid will be used to detect and treat cases of acute malnutrition and tackle the root causes of food insecurity. The aid, implemented by the Humanitarian Aid Office ECHO under Commissioner Poul Nielson, is expected to reach a total of 150 000 people. Since 1999 ECHO has granted over €58 million to the disaster-prone Central American region.

In the last three years Central America has suffered disruption to its usual pattern of rainfall, with severe drought in some areas and heavy flooding in others. The unusual weather coupled with the region's economic problems has exacerbated food insecurity. Harvests have been particularly poor, so that in addition to the underlying chronic malnutrition there is now acute malnutrition as well. The operations funded by ECHO will run for nine months, identifying problem areas, helping feed around 80 000 children and 70 000 women, and treating cases of acute malnutrition. Measures will be targeted on the most vulnerable areas of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and will include food and seed distribution and better access to drinking water.

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