Press Release: Eritrea: Commission gives EUR 6 million for humanitarian aid

The European Commission has allocated €6 million in humanitarian aid to help vulnerable people in Eritrea faced with declining livelihoods, climatic hazards and conflict. Eritrea is confronted with huge challenges due to years of chronic drought, desertification, poor infrastructure and continued insecurity along the border with Ethiopia. More than half of the population is threatened by hunger and extreme poverty. Every second woman and every second child is chronically malnourished, according to UNICEF. With its donation, the Commission seeks to address their immediate acute needs for water, food and basic healthcare. Beneficiaries are rural populations throughout the country. The aid also covers livestock support and assistance for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Eritrea further benefits from humanitarian aid the Commission is providing in response to the drought in the Greater Horn of Africa. The Commission's total response to drought in the region since 2005 is €88 million (see IP/06/775).