EU sends €5m emergency aid to Horn of Africa

The EU today said it was giving a further €5m in emergency humanitarian aid to millions of victims affected by a severe drought in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia and was readying a further €40m in funds if suffering intensifies.

The European Commission said the aim of the aid is to help by providing water, food and health care to some 5.6 million people in the Horn of Africa.

“Starvation threatens if we don’t act quickly,” EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel said in a statement, adding that today’s contribution was part of on-going aid commitments to the region.

The EU head office has already handed over €73m in emergency aid to help alleviate suffering due to the drought.