Summary: January 24, 2001: Commission approves humanitarian aid worth €7.5 million (Brussels)
The European Commission has taken the following humanitarian aid decisions totaling €7.5 million for drought victims in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, flood victims in Bangladesh and people displaced by conflict in the Moluccan Islands. The assistance is channeled through its Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).
Drought victims in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran
A further €4 million has been allocated for humanitarian operations in Afghanistan and in neighboring areas of Pakistan and Iran, following a dramatic worsening of the impact of the drought. This is in addition to the €5.5 million in humanitarian aid that was allocated in July 2000.
It is almost thirty years since this part of Asia experienced a drought of such magnitude. In Afghanistan, it has hit a population already impoverished after 21 years of war. The funds are being provided, through ECHO, to a range of projects run by its partners in the field. These include the supply of tents and emergency kits for displaced people in Herat, Afghanistan (Ockenden International UK), free food distribution organized by Oxfam (UK) and the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) and seed distribution in a number of areas organized by Oxfam, the ICRC, Solidarités (F) and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In addition, support is going to food for work schemes run by Solidarités, Oxfam and Care (UK). These aim at addressing the emergency food requirements of the people and at structural improvements in water supplies through well deepening and the rehabilitation of traditional irrigation systems. Water-supply projects run by the Swedish Red Cross are being implemented in Iran.
Flood victims in Bangladesh
Emergency humanitarian aid worth €1.5 million has been agreed to help victims of flooding in the western districts of Bangladesh. Some three million people are estimated to have been affected by the floods, which followed September's heavy rain. Over a million people have sought refuge in shelters, while more than one hundred deaths have been reported.
The EU's assistance is focused on increasing the availability of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, and on providing basic health care to reduce the risk of epidemics. Targeted distribution of shelter materials to vulnerable and isolated groups in the flooded areas is also foreseen. The main food needs of the affected population are already being covered by the Bangladesh Government and UN agencies. ECHO's intervention in this respect is, therefore, limited to support for isolated
groups in flooded areas and supplementary feeding for infants and for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.
The funding is being directed through five of ECHO's partners: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, MSF-Netherlands, COOPI, Concern and Oxfam.
People displaced by the civil conflict in the Moluccan islands
Aid worth €2 million has been approved for displaced populations in the Moluccan islands of Indonesia. This scattered archipelago, stretching more than 1,000 kilometers from north to south, has endured civil conflict since early 1999. Almost 3,000 people have been killed in the fighting and it is estimated that half a million inhabitants have been displaced from their homes, of which 400,000 are not receiving government assistance. The causes of the conflict are complex. Initially seen as a
struggle over the control of resources, linked to the decision to divide the islands into two separate provinces, it has acquired a religious dimension, pitting Christians against Moslems.
There are two main components to the EU's assistance. The first involves the provision of food and essential hygiene products for displaced people. Specific help will go to groups identified as particularly at risk, with the aim of enabling them to achieve self-sufficiency. The work will be carried out by the French NGO, Action Contre la Faim (ACF) which has an established presence and track record in the islands.
The second entails funding, directed through the International Committee of the Red Cross, for the rehabilitation of a cargo ship. This will be used to deliver food and other essential supplies, over a six-month period, in the north of the archipelago, which has an estimated 180,000 displaced people. The aim is to overcome the acute access difficulties resulting both from the geographical situation of the islands and the community divisions that have emerged during the conflict.
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