As the Horn of Africa region continues to be afflicted by severe and prolonged humanitarian crises, the EU announces a new aid package worth €110.5 million. Since 2018, the EU has provided humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa totalling €316.5 million.
“The EU is committed to assist people in need in the Horn of Africa. I have visited the region several times and EU partners are making a real difference in helping those most in need. Our new funding will support those that have fled their homes, fragile host communities, and those suffering from natural disasters, especially drought. For aid to work, it is essential that across the region humanitarian organisations have full access to those in need,” said Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis management.
The EU funding is allocated across the following countries: Somalia (€36.5 million), Ethiopia (€31 million), Uganda (€28.5 million), Kenya (€13.5 million) and Djibouti (€1 million).
EU-funded humanitarian efforts in the Horn of Africa support the most vulnerable people, including refugees, internally displaced people and host communities, providing them with food assistance, shelter, safe water, health and nutrition care, protection, and education for children caught up in humanitarian crises.
Background
How EU aid helps
The EU is helping with life-saving food assistance and treatment for undernutrition in children under five years of age, while also protecting people’s livelihoods. Where possible, multi-purpose cash transfers are used to allow households to feed and sustain their family.
The EU supports basic healthcare and the strengthening of disease outbreak prevention and response measures. For example, the EU has contributed €2.5 million in humanitarian aid this year to the Ebola rapid detection and reaction efforts in Uganda.
Humanitarian situation overview
Taken together, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Djibouti host more than 2.7 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. Moreover, conflicts and weather-related disasters have forced over 6 million people into internal displacement in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
The Horn of Africa region is prone to epidemic outbreaks due to low vaccination coverage, high undernutrition rates and mass population movements.
Repeated spells of drought and floods continue to exacerbate the vulnerability of people in the region. An estimated 11 million people in the region are in need of food assistance as a direct consequence of extreme weather events or displacement, and as many as 4 million children under five years of age suffer from undernutrition.
