EU humanitarian aid to Peru

The European Commission, through its Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), has moved quickly in response to the earthquake which struck southern Peru on 23 June. In the first instance, a decision to allocate humanitarian aid worth €1.15 million was taken on Monday 25 June under the "primary emergency aid" procedure to help meet the urgent needs of the victims. The funds will be used to provide essential relief items, food aid, temporary shelter, medical support, water and sanitation. This may be followed up by further decisions, depending on the scale of needs identified and once a more full assessment has been undertaken.

ECHO's partners for these humanitarian operations are the Spanish Red Cross, Oxfam (UK), Save the Children, Medicos del Mundo (Spain) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

This is the first time that the Commission has made use of its new system for responding immediately to "sudden onset" humanitarian crises, which came into operation less than two weeks ago.

Poul Nielson, the Commissioner responsible for Development and Humanitarian Aid, expressed his deep sympathy with the victims of the earthquake in Peru. "In addition to the tragic toll of dead and injured, a lot of people have lost their homes and have no shelter against the Peruvian winter. We have a duty to act promptly when tragedy strikes in this way. Thanks to the new procedure, ECHO has been able to react immediately, helping to ensure that vital relief supplies are delivered speedily to the crisis zone."


For information:

ECHO is the European Union's Humanitarian Aid Office, a service of the European Commission under the direct responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson. It funds relief to victims of natural disasters and man-made crises outside the EU.

Aid is channelled direct to victims, regardless of their race, religion or political beliefs, through organisations which have signed a Framework Partnership Contract with the Commission. ECHO's partners are the specialist agencies of the United Nations, the Red Cross family, other international organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

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