11/10/2012  - 

The European Commission is increasing by €30 million its aid to the Horn of Africa, helping a million people in Somalia and Ethiopia in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva made the announcement in Tokyo during a visit to Japan where she is highlighting the EU's new resilience strategy.

The new funding comes from the Commission's Emergency Aid Reserve and is to support immediate life-saving activities. An important share is dedicated to building the resilience of vulnerable communities to withstand future disasters.

It brings the total humanitarian financial contribution from the Commission for the region to €162 million this year.

Increased rainfall and sustained humanitarian assistance has resulted in improved food security in the entire Horn of Africa. This is in contrast to the acute humanitarian crisis the region faced last year, when famine was declared in parts of Somalia for the first time since 1992 by the United Nations.

‘Thanks to sustained humanitarian assistance and better weather conditions the situation in the region has improved but more than nine million people in the Horn of Africa still need food, shelter, water and protection. There are more than 1.5 million internally displaced people and 1.2 million refugees in the region,’ said Commissioner Georgieva.

"Our main goal is to help vulnerable people to survive, but we can best do this by also strengthening their resilience and helping prepare them to be ready for when the next disaster inevitably strikes.’