Humanitarian aid: EU announces additional €35 million for Africa’s Sahel region

November 13, 2019 by European Union Leave a Comment

(Hu Chen, Unsplash)

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

A rise in the number and spread of conflicts in countries across Africa’s Sahel region is putting further strains on already fragile communities. To help those most in need, the European Commission is stepping up its support with a further €35 million in humanitarian aid. “From Mauritania to Chad, many vulnerable communities in the Sahel region are facing hunger due to growing insecurity and conflict. Many more people rely on our humanitarian assistance for survival. We remain committed to help those in need and support humanitarian organisations working to deliver aid in the region,” said Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management. The funding announced today will be provided to humanitarian organisations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger to:

boost access to food and basic social services, such as health care, protection and education;
help people forcibly displaced by conflicts in the region and host communities; and
support humanitarian organisations equipped to react rapidly to needs in case of sudden humanitarian crises.

The EU is one of the largest donors of humanitarian aid to the Sahel. With today’s announced funding, the EU’s total contribution to humanitarian assistance in the Sahel in 2019 stands at over €187 million. Aid organisations receiving EU support are helping with providing emergency food assistance, shelter, water access and sanitation, nutrition to undernourished children, supporting health care centres, and ensuring screening for children who are at risk of malnutrition. Background The people in the Sahel region are faced with multiple and overlapping threats, such as armed conflicts, climatic shocks, food and nutrition shortages, and disease outbreaks. It is estimated that across the five Sahel countries supported by this aid package, there are 12.7 million people in need of urgent humanitarian aid, including more than 4.3 million who require emergency food assistance. Triggered by rapidly spreading conflicts and pressures on food availability, the number of displaced people in the region went up by over 520,000 since the beginning of the year to 2.04 million people.

Discover more from The European Sting - Critical News & Insights on European Politics, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Business & Technology - europeansting.com

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

WHO Passengers from MV Hondius assisted by Spanish and WHO health teams after disembarking.

Passengers leave hantavirus-hit cruise ship in Tenerife as WHO says outbreak ‘not another COVID’

May 11, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Passengers and crew from the cruise ship MV Hondius began disembarking in Tenerife on Sunday under a tightly coordinated international health operation led by Spanish authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO), as officials sought to reassure the public that the outbreak “is not another COVID.” The […]

Nuclear energy in the Middle East: A realistic choice or a risk?

May 11, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. As global electricity demand grows, so does the popularity of nuclear energy. In the Middle East, several countries are evaluating or advancing nuclear power projects, balancing weighty issues such as regional security, climatic conditions and international cooperation. “Nuclear energy is at the intersection of energy demands, technological […]

© NASA The Strait of Hormuz which separates the United Arab Emirates and Iran is a strategically important shipping route

Bahrain and US float Security Council resolution on the Strait of Hormuz

May 8, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Bahrain and the United States have circulated a draft Security Council resolution calling for Iran to cease attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, their ambassadors outlined to journalists at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday. The text is supported by Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the […]

© CDC An enhanced microscopic image shows the Hantavirus.

Hantavirus outbreak: Another passenger contracts disease

May 7, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. It’s been confirmed that another passenger from the cruise liner linked to the outbreak of hantavirus has contracted the disease, which has claimed the lives of three people on board and sparked an international alert coordinated by the UN World Health Organization (WHO). The individual, who is […]

UN warns of worsening human rights crisis in Mali after deadly attacks

May 6, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. The human rights situation in Mali is rapidly deteriorating following coordinated attacks by armed groups across the country, with civilians killed, displaced and cut off from food and aid, UN rights office OHCHR said on Tuesday. The violence, which erupted on 25 and 26 April, saw large-scale […]

© UNICEF A damaged ambulance in Tebnine in southern Lebanon.

In Lebanon, the same fears and dangers persist despite ceasefire: UNHCR

May 6, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Death and destruction have continued unabated in Lebanon while communities are still unable to return to their homes despite a ceasefire that began on 17 April, humanitarians said on Tuesday. “Civilians in the south of Lebanon and parts of the Bekaa [Valley] are really living with the […]

© Unsplash/Planet Volumes A computer-generated image shows the Strait of Hormuz.

Uncertainty continues over safety in the Strait of Hormuz

May 5, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Amid claims and counter-claims of strikes and confrontations in the crucial Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the United States, UN maritime officials continue to urge vessels to exercise “maximum caution”. “We are aware of the reports but do not have further details. We continue to urge […]

© ADB/Ariel Javellana Women farmers in India sell wheat grain and buy fertilizer with the proceeds.

Middle East crisis puts aid, food, fuel further out of reach for millions already struggling – UN agencies

May 4, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. As the Middle East crisis continues the humanitarian fallout is worsening, with aid route disruptions and food and fuel price hikes wrecking the lives and the rights of the most vulnerable people worldwide, UN agencies warned on Friday. Heightened insecurity and instability around key Gulf routes, including […]

© Unsplash/Angus Gray Ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped by over 90 per cent since the crisis escalated in late February 2026.

Hormuz crisis strangling global economy, Guterres warns, demanding solutions to end stalemate

May 1, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. The escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could push tens of millions into poverty, trigger a surge in global hunger and even tip the world towards recession, the UN Secretary-General warned on Thursday. António Guterres decried the restrictions on free passage through the crucial chokepoint which […]

AI in advertising risks fuelling information crisis, UN warns

April 30, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. With spending on advertising topping $1 trillion a year worldwide, the United Nations on Wednesday highlighted the untapped power of major brands to shape the future of Artificial Intelligence, warning that a failure to act could deepen a global information integrity crisis. In a new brief titled […]

2015 nuclear deal ‘no basis’ for any new agreement with Iran

April 30, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. The 2015 nuclear accord with Iran cannot be the starting point for a new agreement with the country, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday in New York. Rafael Mariano Grossi was speaking during a press conference at UN Headquarters held on […]

From Hormuz to Lebanon, crisis reverberates through trade routes, upending humanitarian networks

April 29, 2026

© WHO/Hanan Balkhy In Gaza displaced families are living in overcrowded tents and makeshift shelters, surrounded by waste and debris, with limited access to safe water and sanitation services. This article is published in association with United Nations. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to send shockwaves through global food systems, the UN Food and Agriculture […]

© UNICEF/Mohamed Zakaria A displacement centre in El Fasher, North Darfur (file).

World News in Brief: Sudan drone attacks condemned, South Sudan violence, airstrikes in Ukraine, South Africa Freedom Day

April 28, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. The United Nations has condemned two recent drone attacks in Sudan, one of which left seven dead, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday during his regular media briefing in New York. An aid truck from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) that was carrying emergency shelter kits came under attack by […]

© IMO/Cihancan Tunay A ship makes its way across an ocean.

Chokepoints and conflict: How the Hormuz crisis is exposing global shipping vulnerabilities

April 27, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. The blockading of ships in the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the conflict between the United States and Iran has demonstrated how ships and seafarers have become “leverage in geopolitical disputes,” according to the head of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO). Since conflict began […]

Middle East war: After oil and gas, concerns grow over minerals crunch

April 24, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals that drive economies all over the world – and a race by countries to obtain them. Until war erupted on 28 […]

Ceasefire extension offers diplomatic opening, but tensions persist in Strait of Hormuz

April 23, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. The United States’ decision to extend a fragile ceasefire with Iran has kept a narrow window open for diplomacy, but fresh security incidents in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday underscore the volatility of the situation and the risks to global shipping and regional stability. The UN […]

UN News Moreira da Silva (right), Executive Director of UNOPS on a visit to the Gaza Strip.

Strait of Hormuz: With hunger looming, life-saving fertiliser shipments cannot wait, head of UN task force says

April 22, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. As the Persian Gulf crisis continues, time is ticking for farmers who rely on fertilizer shipped via the Strait of Hormuz – and millions worldwide who depend on their crops, particularly in vulnerable countries such as war-torn Sudan. In normal times, one third of global fertiliser trade […]

UN News A popular market in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

Economic collapse pushes highly educated Gazans into the ‘survival economy’

April 22, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Young Palestinians in Gaza with university-level educations are setting aside dreams of putting their hard-won skills into practice and doing whatever they can to survive. Abdullah al-Khawaja, an electrical engineering graduate displaced from Rafah to Khan Younis, now stands behind a small spice stall, having lost the […]

MONUSCO/Didier Vignon Dossou-Gbakon MONUSCO peacekeepers protect civilians in Ituri, eastern DRC.

World News in Brief: AI diagnostics, humanitarian deal for DR Congo, rights abuse allegations in Belarus, Ukraine children bear heaviest burden

April 21, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. New data shows that nearly three in four countries in Europe now use Artificial Intelligence in their health services to make a diagnosis. According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO) joint report with the European Union, 74% of countries in the bloc use AI tools in medical […]