The European Commission has earmarked 8 million euros (USD10.31 million) to support small-scale humanitarian response to natural or man-made disasters.
“Small-scale disasters often occur in remote or isolated areas, rarely trigger a declaration of emergency and usually do not figure prominently in the news despite the serious humanitarian needs they create locally,” the commission said in a press release.
The funding comprises 600,000 euros for Central Africa, Sudan and Chad; 2.5 million euros for East, West and southern Africa and the Indian Ocean; 600,000 euros for central and Eastern Europe, newly independent states, Mediterranean countries, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan; and 3.5 million euros for Asia including Mongolia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The money also includes 800,000 euros for contingency reserve.
The assistance will be channeled through non-governmental organizations, international bodies including the United Nations, and European Union member states’ specialized agencies, the commission added.
