EU allocates emergency humanitarian aid for floods in Horn of Africa

The Commission has mobilised additional humanitarian aid funding of €3.5 million for those affected by devastating floods in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.

In Somalia, €2 million will support the provision of emergency aid to the people most affected by the current floods, especially along the Juba River basin. This additional funding comes on top of the €5.5 million recently allocated to the country in humanitarian assistance to those most affected by the El Niño-related floods and conflict- forced displacement.

The EU is also launching a helicopter deployment to reach hard to reach areas in Somalia via the European Humanitarian Response Capacity. This deployment is expected to be launched in December 2023 and last for 2 months.

In Ethiopia, €1 million will support humanitarian partners already present in the flood-affected areas. The support will be mainly through multi-purpose cash transfers and the distribution of shelter and essential items, including for water purification and treatment.

This funding is in addition to the immediate assistance already being provided on the ground in the Somali, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Regions (SNNPR) with €2.3 million through the EU’s Emergency Response Mechanism. The Mechanism already engaged in preparedness actions before the floods hit.

This brings total EU funding in response to the recent and ongoing floods in the country to €3.3 million.

In Kenya, for which €500,000 is allocated, heavy rainfall and landslides have particularly affected areas previously hit by a severe drought, i.e. the northeast part of the country. Kenya has also had a recent cholera outbreak.

In addition to this funding, €200,000 have been allocated to the Kenya Red Cross Society to support its response to the El Niño-aggravated ongoing floods.

Taking into account the intense rainfall affecting also other parts of Africa, the European Union recently allocated also €50,000 to the Burundi Red Cross Society, to support the latter’s response to the floods and landslides affecting the Cibitoke region.