THE European Commission (EC) has pledged to provide about $19,5 million from its 10th European Development Fund to help the most vulnerable people affected by persistent droughts in Southern Africa.
Report By KUPAKWASHE MAKONYE OWN CORRESPONDENT
In a statement, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, said about five million children in Angola, Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe required urgent food aid.
“We need to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to prevent a critical situation from getting even worse,” said Georgieva.
“But we also need to ensure that the people at risk can recover and build up their resilience so that they could cope with future natural disasters.”
The new funding brings the EC’s humanitarian aid in Southern Africa to $43 million for this year, of which $12,7 million was allocated to Zimbabwe.
A recent Human Development Report cited southern African countries as the poorest in the world.
