Kenya: The European Commission steps up its humanitarian assistance to drought victims

The European Commission is giving a further €5.05 million in emergency humanitarian aid to help the estimated six million people affected by droughts in parts of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. This brings the Commission's total response to the drought in the region to €78 million, including €17 million in emergency response to the crisis. Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, announced the new funding while attending the 11^th summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government in Nairobi. IGAD, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, is a grouping of seven countries (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda) and focuses, among other issues, on food security.

The Commission's decision aims to help up to 3.5 million people, including 500,000 school children, in the drought-affected areas of Kenya. It focuses on food aid and complements ongoing humanitarian aid activities under recent drought-related decisions of the European Commission for Kenya and the Horn of Africa.

"The lack of rain in parts of East Africa has put the livelihoods of millions of people at risk. The problem is not the lack of food. It's just that many farmers face losing their cattle and are just too poor to buy the food that is available", said Mr Michel. He also stressed that the European response "is not driven by the immediate crisis and the media pressure, it is driven by the needs. Thousands of hectares of forest are lost every year in the Horn of Africa, increasing the desertification, drought and famine".

The Commission has a two-pronged approach involving the provision of relief assistance under the humanitarian aid budget and of medium and longer term support to tackle the effects of the drought. The latter involves financing mainly from the food aid and food security budget line and from the European Development Fund.

The rains in October to December 2005 failed, and the rains in the March to May are expected to be below average. However, the crisis is not just caused by a lack of rain. Food is available to buy in the drought stricken regions, but high prices have pushed it beyond the reach of many. The problem is in providing this food to those in need. The European Commission has also provided funds to assist this distribution. Last December the Commission called for quick mobilisation of humanitarian operators, but there are currently few operating in the affected regions.

The drought is mostly affecting the nomadic pastoralists who move between countries of the region. The impact of this drought highlights how the way of life pastoralists have engaged in for centuries is becoming increasingly difficult.

The Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) manages the funds, under the responsibility of Commissioner Michel. Projects are implemented by relief agencies operating in the affected area.

For further information: http://europa.eu.int/comm/echo/index_en.htm

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