EU scales up aid to CAR, Lebanon, others

The European Union (EU) is increasing its humanitarian aid by €18.5 million to the Central African Republic (CAR) to provide immediate life-saving assistance to check suffering from the crisis.The funds according to statements from the in Brussels, Belgium will support immediate life-saving activities such as distribution of essential food and survival items as well as […]

The European Union (EU) is increasing its humanitarian aid by €18.5 million to the Central African Republic (CAR) to provide immediate life-saving assistance to check suffering from the crisis.
The funds according to statements from the in Brussels, Belgium will support immediate life-saving activities such as distribution of essential food and survival items as well as providing shelter, health, protection, water, hygiene and sanitation.
€8.5 million of the new funding will be committed immediately before the end of this year, while €10 million will be programmed from 1 January 2014. The additional aid will bring the EU’s emergency relief to CAR this year to €39 million.
 EU Commissioner for development Andris Piebalgs said: “The immediate needs are so huge that the EU has the moral obligation to do all it can to provide immediate support and relief to the people who are suffering from a situation which is not of their choosing.”
To boost humanitarian efforts, the Commission has deployed its humanitarian air service ECHO Flight to open up a vital line of support into and out of Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic (CAR).
In a related development, EU has also announced a Regional Development and Protection Programme for refugees and host communities in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, as part of its long-term development response to the Syrian refugee crisis.  
The main activities supported by the new programme will include market-based support for creating employment opportunities, micro-enterprise finance, skills development and vocational training.Meanwhile the European Union and ECOWAS have signed an agreement of N4.1 billion for a programme to support the sub-region in improving its economic governance.