The European Commission is mobilising €50 million ($56 million) in emergency humanitarian funding to support drought-hit communities in the Horn of Africa.
On Wednesday, EU’s decision-implementing body—the European Commission—said it was raising the funds to help the communities buy food and other essential needs.
“Our funding will help extend humanitarian assistance in the affected areas, helping communities ward off the risk of famine,” Christos Stylianides, the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management said in a statement.
Somalia, the worst of the crisis, will receive $28 million, followed by Ethiopia at $22 million. Kenya and Uganda—both hosting refugees from neighbouring countries—will receive $3.3 million and $2.2 million respectively.
The funding will also go towards public health services and treatment of severe malnutrition among toddlers and pregnant women as well as stipends for sustaining livelihoods.
Most of the targeted communities practice pastoral lifestyle in Kenya’s dry north, Uganda’s Karamoja region, Somalia and Ethiopia.
Source: The East African
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