EU Increases Humanitarian Funding To Somalia

The European Union (EU) will give an additional 10 million euros (13.4 million U.S. dollars) of aid to Somalia in response to its increasing humanitarian needs, the European Commission said Friday.

Food security has deteriorated sharply in Somalia as a result of poor rains, restricted access and conflict disrupting economic and agricultural activities. Over 2.9 million people are in need of assistance, out of which 857,000 are in a crisis situation, according to the European Commission.

The EU hopes that new funding will help the country respond to the serious crisis that Somalis are currently facing, and provide basic health care and nutrition services for the most vulnerable people.

Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, called on other donors to “join us before it is too late” as Somalia’s long-suffering people needed a boost of international humanitarian assistance to avoid slipping into a famine.

The new funding brought the EU’s 2014 humanitarian aid contribution for Somalia to 49 million euros (65.63 million U.S. dollars). (1 euro = 1.34 U.S. dollars) (Cihan/Xinhua)