DHAKA: The European Commission (EU) on Wednesday adopted its humanitarian aid budget of nearly €1.1 billion (around $120-crore) for 2016 as global humanitarian needs are set to reach a historic high in this year.
As an initial allocation, it is the highest EU humanitarian budget for life-saving relief in manmade and natural disasters to date.
EU issued a press release in this regard that said, “The record budget comes as global humanitarian needs are increasing due to the growing number of refugees and displaced persons as a result of armed conflict, the increasing impact of natural disasters, climate change and the economic crisis”.
EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said the budget will be increased in the next year due to tragically high levels of needs.
He also called on other donors to step up their commitments.
The 2016 humanitarian budget will address the external dimension of the refugee crisis in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, the Western Balkans and Iraq.
It will also assist people affected by other conflicts, such as in South Sudan and Ukraine, and the needs of communities in the Sahel region and Lake Chad Basin.
The funding will also help vulnerable people caught up in many of the world’s ‘forgotten crises’, such as to displaced people in Colombia, Myanmar and Afghanistan, which otherwise escape the attention of the international community.
As a particular priority, the EC is set to increase its humanitarian funding for education in 2016.
Other priorities include helping vulnerable communities prepare for and better cope with recurrent natural disasters, such as those of southeast Asia, as well as to improve aid delivery.
EU assistance is implemented via humanitarian partner organisations, including UN agencies, NGOs and the Red Cross family, which have signed partnership agreements with the European Commission.
The Commission is closely monitoring the use of EU funds via its global network of humanitarian experts.
BDST: 1400 HRS, DEC 17, 2015
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