Horn of Africa to benefit from $38m European Commission boostBy SANDRA CHAO in Nairobi | Monday, October 15  2012 at  18:39

An estimated one million people in Ethiopia and Somalia are expected to benefit from the $38 million increase in aid from the European Commission, officials said.

According to a press statement, the money from the Commission's Emergency Aid Reserve (EAR), will mainly be used in the provision of humanitarian assistance and to help build the resilience of the vulnerable communities from future disasters.

Though the Horn of Africa region has seen an improvement in food security, more than two million people in Somalia depend on food aid.

The number of those in need of food aid in Ethiopia has increased by 16 per cent and the recent flooding in the country affected more than 100,000 people.

Ethiopia is also said to be hosting 368,000 refugees from neighbouring countries, while 1.3 million Somalis are said to be internally displaced.

“Thanks to sustained humanitarian assistance and better weather conditions, the situation in the region has improved, but more than nine million people in the Horn of Africa still need food, shelter, water and protection. There are more than 1.5 million internally displaced people and 1.2 million refugees in the region,” the press statement explained.

The funds will be channelled through the EU's SHARE strategy (Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience), which was launched earlier in the year.

"Our main goal is to help vulnerable people to survive, but we can best do this by also strengthening their resilience and helping prepare them to be ready for when the next disaster inevitably strikes,” it added.

So far, the European Commission has spent $213 million as humanitarian financial contribution in the region from the start of the year.