In a press statement released on Thursday, the EC said the money was meant to address humanitarian needs in the region.
Angola, Lesotho and Malawi will also benefit from the grant that is sourced from the 10th European Development Fund to “help the most vulnerable people affected by persistent droughts”.
‘Five million people in need, especially children suffering from malnutrition and related diseases, will benefit from this decision by getting food assistance, emergency nutrition and recovery aid,” read the statement.
The new funding brings the EC's humanitarian aid in Southern Africa to 33 million $43 million) for 2012 alone, with $12.7 million going to Zimbabwe.
Commenting after the release of the money, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, said: ‘We need to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to prevent a critical situation from getting even worse.
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.”
According to the EC, poor harvests have driven food prices up, making about 6 million people food insecure.
The 2011 Human Development Report says southern African countries are among the poorest in the world.
Post published in: News