EU humanitarian aid to North Korea, Vietnam and Laos

The European Commission has recently adopted three humanitarian aid decisions relating to Laos, North Korea and Vietnam. The assistance is channeled through the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), which comes under the authority of Commissioner Poul Nielson.

Laos (€730,000)

Humanitarian aid is being provided to help displaced vulnerable people and possible victims of resettlement policies. Actions being funded include improvements to water and sanitation systems, the construction of an access road, the distribution of hygiene kits and education in mine-awareness. An underlying aim is to boost ethnic minorities' access to a sustainable livelihood as an alternative to resettlement.

North Korea (€300,000)

Floods triggered by recent torrential rains have caused substantial damage in the western part of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, with a number of casualties reported. Emergency aid has been allocated to meet the immediate needs of 22,500 people and to replenish emergency relief stocks to face the ongoing rainy season.

Vietnam (€245,000)

ECHO is providing funds to purchase additional doses of the Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus vaccine. The health of many Vietnamese children is threatened if full coverage cannot be ensured in all regions during the 2002 vaccination campaign run by the Vietnamese National Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI). It is estimated that two million doses are required to make up the shortfall.

| Top |