Georgieva Starts EU Initiative to Tackle Horn of Africa Hunger

Politics » BULGARIA IN EU | March 16, 2012, Friday // 16:34

The European Commission will invest EUR 250 M in supporting the recovery from the recent drought in the Horn of Africa and strengthening the population's resistance to future crises, the Bulgarian EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva has announced.

The initiative, called 'Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience' (SHARE) was unveiled Friday by Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, who is in charge of EU's humanitarian aid efforts, and her colleague Andris Piebalgs, the Commissioner for Development. The launch took place in Copenhagen, at the invitation of the Danish Presidency of the European Council.

SHARE aims to break the vicious cycle of humanitarian crises in east Africa and ensure that people can cope better with future droughts, according to the website of Commissioner Georgieva.

The assistance package will help the victims of the recent crisis to return to their homes and jobs, and improve public services, such as access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Projects will also provide support for livestock rearing, an essential source of livelihood for the majority of the population in some drought-prone areas. Other priorities are disaster preparedness and building stronger bridges between humanitarian and development projects. SHARE will run until 2020 –proof of the Commission's long-term commitment to the Horn of Africa.

"Europe has done its best to alleviate the suffering caused by hunger to millions of people in the region, but humanitarian assistance is like a dressing on a deep wound – it can offer relief, but it cannot cure the disease. To prevent future famines we need to combine the short-term humanitarian response with long-term support for resilience to future droughts. This is what we intend to do with SHARE," Commissioner Georgieva explained.

The EU is the world's largest humanitarian donor to the Horn of Africa. In 2011 the European Commission alone spent EUR 181 M on nutrition, water, sanitation and other humanitarian needs in the hunger-hit parts of the region. In 2012, the Commission has allocated EUR 102 M for the Horn of Africa's humanitarian needs.

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Tags: hunger, EU, European Union, humanitarian aid, humanitarian aid commissioner, EU Commissioner, European Commissioner, EC, Horn of Africa, hunger, Andris Piebalgs, Kristalina Georgieva

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