Sumario: August 8, 2001 : Commission approves a series of humanitarian aid measures worth Euro 16.2 million (Brussels)
The European Commission has recently taken a number of separate humanitarian aid decisions totaling €16.2 million. The countries included in these decisions are; the Palestinian Territories (€5 million), Cambodia (€4.2 million), Indonesia (€2.2 million), Myanmar (€2 million), Burkina Faso and Chad (€1.6 million) and China-Inner Mongolia (€1.2 million). The assistance is channeled through the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) which comes under the authority of Commissioner Poul Nielson.
Palestinian Territories - €5 million
Since the outbreak of the crisis in the Palestinian territories in the autumn last year, the fighting has claimed more than 500 lives with a further 14,000 injured. It has also provoked a widespread increase in humanitarian needs. The main focus of ECHO's latest funding is to help prevent malnutrition and the risk of food insecurity among the most marginalized groups affected by the conflict. The plan involves the distribution of essential food items to more than 220,000 families in the West
Bank and Gaza over the next 6 months.
Cambodia - €4.2 million
Cambodia has enjoyed relative stability since the 1998 elections, after three decades of war, enabling the focus in parts of the country to shift from emergency relief to long term development. However, regions such as Preah Vihar and Mondol Kiri are lagging behind having only recently become accessible to external agencies. ECHO has taken a lead role in tackling the humanitarian needs of the people in these areas. The funds made available in this decision will be used to provide safe water and
sanitation for households, to extend healthcare (including the supply of preventive medicines and other drugs) and to assist returnees to reintegrate into their home communities. The decision also has an important de-mining component aimed at improving safety for both the civilian population and relief workers.
Indonesia - €2.2 million
The current crisis stems from the economic collapse of 1997, political instability since 1998, and severe climate events associated with the El Nino phenomen. Since 1999, there have been serious outbreaks of violence in the Moluccas, Timor and Borneo resulting in significantly increased humanitarian needs. In this decision, the emphasis is on helping the victims of these ethnic, religious and political conflicts. Funds will be used to provide medical centers and supplies and, in particular, to
prevent outbreaks of disease in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in West Kalimantan and the Molucca Islands. There will also be support for drinking water schemes in West Timor and the Northern Moluccas, and for nutrition in West Timor.
Myanmar (Burma) - €2 million
More than 40% of Myanmar's population has no access to health care, while only 32% has access to safe drinking water, resulting in the rapid spread of diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and malaria. Projects financed by ECHO under this decision are aimed at increasing sustainable access to safe water, reducing the risk of water borne diseases and improving wastewater management. Funds are also being allocated to educate the civilian population about child nutrition, AIDS and family planning,
and to inform health workers about malaria control and advanced health care practices.
Burkina Faso and Chad - €1.6 million
Burkina Faso and Chad are both vulnerable to meningitis epidemics. In a new outbreak this year, 4,244 new cases of the disease had been recorded by April, including 430 deaths. ECHO has allocated €1.6 million in emergency aid for extensive vaccination campaigns covering more than 1.3 million people.
China (Inner Mongolia) - €1.2 million
Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China, has been seriously affected by severe weather conditions. Heavy winter snowfalls, covering more than 45 million hectares of grassland, resulted in the deaths of 69 people and more than 780,000 livestock. The blizzards followed a lengthy period of drought in the region. As a result, nomadic herders have been struggling to preserve their depleted herds. 30% of the population of the region earn their living through livestock production. An estimated
2.6 million people are now affected with up to 500,000 facing food shortages. ECHO's allocation of €1.2 million is being used to cover the basic nutritional needs of 100,000 people. In addition medical kits are being provided as well as materials and rehabilitation work for four primary schools destroyed by the snowstorms.
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