Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Sequel to the humanitarian needs of the Sahel region arising from armed conflicts, climate change, and food and nutrition crisis, the European Union (EU), has announced a donation of €152.05 million for the management of the area.
The assistance, according to the EU, is to bring relief to people in the region which include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria.
While Burkina Faso received €15.7 million, Cameroon got €17.8 million, Chad (€27.2 million), Mali (€23.55 million), Mauritania (€11.15 million), Niger (€ 23.15 million), while Nigeria got 28 million.
The Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja by its Press Officer, Politics, Press and Information Section, Mr Modestus Chukwulaka, the EU said an additional five million euro is being allocated to a regional project fighting malnutrition in Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.
“As countries in the Sahel continue to suffer from armed conflicts, climate change, and a food and nutrition crisis, the EU is providing €152.05 million to bring relief to people in need in the region. Combined with last year’s funding, humanitarian assistance to the Sahel has been supported with over €423 million in EU aid, making the EU a leading donor in the region,” the EU said.
The statement by Chukwulaka, quoted the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides as saying: “The EU’s vital work in the Sahel continues to help the most vulnerable, in one of the poorest and most fragile regions in the world where humanitarian needs are worryingly on the rise.
“Our new aid package will provide food assistance, emergency health care, clean water, shelter, protection and education for children. To ensure aid saves lives, it is essential that humanitarian workers have full access to do their job,” Stylianides added.