The European Union (EU) has contributed 1.65 million Euro in humanitarian aid funding in acknowledgment to severe flooding that has struck South Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, and Nepal.
From this support package, 1 million euro will be committed to addressing the urgent humanitarian needs in Bangladesh, where over two million people are in need of food assistance, water, sanitation, hygiene, and emergency shelter, an EU press release stated today.
Besides this, 500,000 euro and 150,000 euro will be used in India and Nepal sequentially to provide food and livelihood assistance, emergency relief supplies, and water and sanitation assistance.
The support comes on top of the 1.8 million euro announced earlier this year to support families afflicted by a series of disasters, including Cyclone Amphan that devastated India and Bangladesh in May, bringing the total EU support to victims of disasters in the region to €3.45 million.
The flooding has hit some 17.5 million people, wiping out homes, livelihoods such as livestock and agricultural lands, and destroying vital infrastructure including roads, hospitals, and schools in South Asia.
“The monsoon rains across South Asia have been particularly devastating this year and this urgent contribution will help our humanitarian partners on the ground in providing crucial support to those who have lost their shelters, belongings, and sources of livelihood,” stated Taheeni Thammannagoda, who oversees EU humanitarian programs in Asia and the Pacific.
The assistance is part of the EU’s Acute Large Emergency Response Tool (ALERT) while measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus will be incorporated in all programming.
