The European Union announced on Wednesday, July 6, the organization of a humanitarian airlift to deliver emergency aid to the population of Somalia, who are at risk of starvation.
“We are organizing a series of flights to bring essential supplies, mainly food and medicine, to our humanitarian partners in remote parts of Somalia where this aid can only be delivered by air.“, European Commissioner Janesh Lenarcic explained in a press release.
50 to 70 flights
The EU allocated 800,000 euros for this.”main logistics operation“. It is expected to take between 50 and 70 flights, with the first plane scheduled to fly on Wednesday to the El Barde region in southwestern Somalia. It will transport 6.5 tons of medical food and medical supplies for the humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger, an EU partner, the EU executive said. Several other flights to Baidoa, Luuk and Wajid regions are scheduled from Wednesday, July 11, the statement said.
“The historic drought affecting the Horn of Africa, combined with the consequences of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, is causing mass suffering and mass displacement.Commissioner Janesh Lenarcic emphasized. The flights and supplies are funded from the EU’s humanitarian aid budget, the European Commission said.
Somalia suffers from extreme weather conditions, including recurrent droughts and floods. The country faces a fourth consecutive failed rainy season, a situation exacerbated by a long-running conflict with al-Shabaab jihadists, political instability and locust invasions, the statement said. More than 7.7 million people, thousands of whom are at risk of starvation, are in need of humanitarian assistance. In 2022, the EU allocated €61 million to humanitarian projects in Somalia, mainly aimed at combating the ongoing drought. The EU has already organized a humanitarian airlift to Somalia in 2020.
Source: Le Figaro
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