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Further Euro 20 million aid to support tsunami victims |
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Thursday, 22 December 2005 |
The European Commission has adopted a new humanitarian aid decision for Euro 20 million to provide continuing support to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami and of the aftershock that hit the island of Nias on 29 March 2005. Sri Lanka has been allocated Euro 8 million of this total amount, writes Daily News 221205 at http://www.dailynews.lk/
Forwarded by Budhi Mulyawan 221205.
This renewed funding comes on top of Euro 103 million already allocated in four previous decisions, of which over Euro 35 million was allocated to Sri Lanka and has been successfully contracted. The Commission is thus fulfilling the pledge made by Commission President Barroso at the Djakarta conference in January 2005 to provide Euro 123 million for humanitarian programmes in the tsunami-affected areas.
The support is being channelled through the Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) which comes under the responsibility of Louis Michel, the Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid.
Commenting on the decision, Mr. Michel said: "Almost a year after the tsunami, it is widely recognised that the relief effort succeeded in meeting immediate needs for food, shelter, healthcare, clean drinking water and sanitation. However, the transition from relief to reconstruction is a longer-term process, and it is clear that humanitarian aid is still essential to ease and prevent suffering, notably for people living in transitional camps".
The objective of the latest funding is to meet ongoing humanitarian needs during the transition from emergency to recovery in the three worst-affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. To avoid discrimination in aid distribution, support will also be provided to vulnerable local populations - including people affected by conflict - in areas of Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
The funds will be used mainly to provide integrated assistance, including healthcare, water and sanitation, shelter and livelihood recovery.
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