Brussels (Brussels Morning) – The European Commission has issued nearly €130 million this year in humanitarian aid for Latin America and the Caribbean, to handle the needs of the most vulnerable people impacted by the main continuous emergencies. This includes over €1 million just agreed to respond to the devastating floods in Brazil, which in past weeks have impacted 90% of the territory of Rio Grande do Sul.
According to the European Commission, Part of this funding will also be committed to reinforcing disaster preparedness, as the area is exposed to natural hazards that are becoming more regular and intense due to climate change.
Why is Commissioner Janez Lenarčič visiting Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados?
The announcement comes as Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, is visiting Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. In Bridgetown, Barbados the Commissioner will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding with several regional associations and governments to increase collaboration in disaster risk management between the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Which countries in Latin America receive the largest portions of EU humanitarian aid?
The largest issuance of EU funding is for Venezuela, with nearly €50 million. Most of the funding will assist tackle the consequences of the prolonged humanitarian crisis in the country and its regional effects, while €5 million will be committed to disaster preparedness.
In Colombia, as people persist in suffering the impact of armed conflicts, €11 million are assigned for humanitarian aid. In addition, €5 million is reserved for disaster preparedness.
How is the EU aiding South America in response to forced displacement and crises like the floods in Brazil?
For the rest of South America, financing amounts to €22 million. This includes €14 million to respond to the major humanitarian needs, notably forced displacement that persists to be a major issue across the subregion, of which €2 million for the reaction to the internal crisis in Ecuador, and the noted €1 million for the floods in Brazil. The remaining €8 million will go to disaster preparedness.
What are the EU’s contributions to humanitarian aid and disaster preparedness in Central America and the Caribbean?
In Central America, €17 million will fund the response to the main humanitarian crises, mainly resulting from regular violence and the record numbers of displaced people on the move. An extra million is earmarked for disaster preparedness.
As already reported in March, €20 million in humanitarian aid was released for Haiti, where the EU recently undertook a Humanitarian Air Bridge. For the rest of the Caribbean, over one million euros will go to humanitarian assistance, notably in response to the migration flows originating mostly from Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti, and another €1 million for catastrophe preparedness.
Finally, an additional amount of €1.5 million has just been assigned to respond to the dengue attack in Central and South America.
The new Memorandum of Understanding will be inscribed in Barbados during a ceremony co-hosted by the European Union, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), and the government of Barbados. The MoU obtains together the European Union and the LAC region via the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the Coordination Centre for the Prevention of Disasters in Central America and Dominican Republic (CEPREDENAC), the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the General Secretariat of the Andean Community (SGCAN), as well Chile, Cuba and Mexico.
It will bolster joint work on disaster preparedness and prevention and foster data sharing and training opportunities. This was one of the fundamental commitments made during last year’s EU-CELAC summit in Brussels.
