The European Union commission is giving €64.7 million in its humanitarian aid for countries in the southern Africa region.
The funds are to help support people in need dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, extreme weather conditions such as persistent drought and other crises in the region.
“The EU is helping to provide life-saving assistance to impoverished households suffering from crop and livestock losses due to drought. The aid package will also strengthen the preparation and response to the coronavirus pandemic for countries in the region. In parallel, the EU is helping communities better prepare for natural hazards and reduce their impact.” Said Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management.
Funds from this package will go towards humanitarian projects with Botswana getting €1.95 million, Comoros €500,000, Angola €3 million, Eswatini €2.4 million, Mozambique €14.6 million, Namibia €2 million, Lesotho €4.8 million, Madagascar €7.3 million, Malawi €7.1 million, Mauritius €250,000, Zambia €5 million and Zimbabwe €14.2 million. Regional disaster preparedness actions were allocated €1.6 million.
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The funding will go towards COVID-19 prevention and preparedness actions to support local health systems and facilitate access to health care, protective equipment, sanitation and hygiene, food assistance to vulnerable households and helping farmers in the affected areas restore their means of subsistence and support for children’s education and providing training to teaching staff.
It will also go towards disaster preparedness projects that cover new needs brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Which include evacuation plans for communities at risk of natural hazards, strengthening early warning systems and acquiring emergency stocks of personal protective equipment.
European Union humanitarian funding in Mauritius is going to support the national COVID-19 preparedness and response plan. The projects will help Mauritius to access testing, infection prevention and control measures in public health facilities and risk communication, including to hard-to-reach communities.
In Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, €5 million will support vulnerable people in the area due to the serious deterioration of the security situation.
In 2019, the Southen Africa region had been given more than €67 million following the impact of the drought, two cyclones and the economic and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.
