Farnesina –
The Government’s action continues to urgently send aid to crisis areas, with the departure today for the Middle East of the Navy ship Vulcano, equipped with an on-board hospital, and after the arrival, in recent days, of humanitarian flights that transported basic necessities to Egypt for the population of Gaza and to Benghazi to support the areas affected by the recent flood.
At the instigation of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Hon. Antonio Tajani, and in line with the Mattei Plan desired by the Government, the Deputy Minister with responsibility for Development Cooperation, the Hon. Edmondo Cirielli, today approved the allocation of over 39 million euros for humanitarian interventions in crisis contexts in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and North Africa.
A decision that reaffirms Italy’s commitment to populations in need and humanitarian assistance in African countries, aimed at promoting the stability and growth of the continent.
Among the approved contributions, the strong support for the humanitarian needs of Ethiopia is confirmed, a priority country, which will receive a total contribution of 25 million euros for activities to be carried out by Italian Civil Society Organizations (20 million euros) and of the United Nations (5 million euros). Ethiopia is one of the beneficiary countries of the International Donors’ Conference for the Horn of Africa, co-organised by Italy last 24 May in New York together with the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and governments of the United States, United Kingdom and Qatar. Sudan is also among the recipients of the recently approved emergency initiatives, benefiting from a contribution of 5 million euros for the activities of Italian CSOs, demonstrating the continuous attention that Italy pays to the evolution of the humanitarian crisis in the country.
As regards the Sahel, Italy renews its commitment to refugees, displaced persons and their host communities, with two contributions to UNHCR approved in favor of the populations of Burkina Faso (3 million euros) and Niger (1, 5 million euros).
Finally, among the approved contributions, there are interventions aimed at offering a response to the lasting consequences of natural disasters such as the Daniel flood, which hit the North East of Libya on 10 September, and the earthquake in Turkey and Syria on 6 February. The interventions are financed with a contribution of 1 million euros to UNICEF for Libya and a total contribution of 4 million euros, equally divided between UNICEF and UNHCR, for Turkey. The response to natural disasters is, in fact, one of the areas to which the Italian Cooperation pays particular attention, together with disaster risk reduction activities.
