EU Supports Ethiopia With €2m Grant To Tackle Desert Locusts

Posted by Eric Ojo African News, East/Central Africa, Latest Headlines, News Around Africa, Uncategorized Wednesday, September 16th, 2020

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The European Union (EU) has provided a grant of €2 million (equivalent of 86.8 million Ethiopian Birr) to support vulnerable communities affected by desert locusts in the Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somali and Tigray regions of the East African country.

The EU’s grant is channeled through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide nutrition support for affected communities.

This latest funding will enable UNICEF to procure therapeutic foods and associated essential medicines to treat an additional 60,000 severely malnourished children.

The grant will also support the warehousing and transportation of malnutrition treatment supplies to ensure they reach the last mile, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

The support is in addition to €2.4 million the EU provided to UNICEF in May 2020 to address the nutrition impact of multiple hazards such as climate-induced recurrent droughts, disease outbreaks, and internal displacements in the Afar, Somali and Oromia regions.

Due to the combined effects of desert locusts, climate change and the secondary impacts of COVID-19, UNICEF and its nutrition partners anticipate the number of children needing treatment for severe acute malnutrition this year to rise by 24 percent.

Therefore, the number of children UNICEF is targeting for treatment has increased from the 460,000 children initially planned (including 16,000 refugees) to 570,000 children (of whom 18,400 are refugees). In addition, UNICEF will also provide meals to support 3,000 caregivers of children admitted to stabilization centers.

The Head of the EU Humanitarian Aid’s office in Ethiopia, Yassine Gaba noted that as one of the largest humanitarian donors in the world, the EU is committed to support efforts aimed at addressing urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia.

“Children are the most vulnerable during times of natural and man-made disasters, and with European help and solidarity, I am confident UNICEF will help address some of the most pressing needs”, he said.

UNICEF Representative, Adele Khodr observed that children are always the most affected when livelihoods are eroded and access to food and adequate nutrition becomes a challenge.

“We are therefore immensely grateful to the EU for providing this funding at this critical time. It will enable us to scale up our nutrition interventions and ensure that life-saving treatment reaches the dramatically increasing number of children in need across Ethiopia.”

Khodr added that with the first EU funding received in May 2020, UNICEF was able to procure and distribute 30,000 cartons of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food for treating 30,000 severely malnourished children in Afar, Somali and Oromia regions.