By Ere-ebi Agedah
The European Union has allocated €500,000 from its Epidemics Tool to support Nigeria in its fight against the cholera epidemic affecting the country, and especially in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
Around 1.6 million internally-displaced persons and 1 million members of the local population are at risk, while at least 11,820 cases and 382 associated deaths have been reported in these states.
EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said: “Nigeria has been facing many crises at the same time, including measles and malaria outbreaks, record levels of food insecurity and malnutrition, and catastrophic flooding, the latter also impacting negatively on the spread of cholera. In addition, the security situation has rendered access to many communities increasingly challenging. With the EU’s support, our humanitarian partners will work to reduce morbidity and mortality through early detection, awareness raising, health education and case management. “
The EU has already allocated €100,000 to Nigeria in response to the floods affecting the country. In October 2022, the EU also committed €700,000 million in humanitarian aid to support the fight against cholera epidemics in Syria, €100,000 million for the cholera outbreak in Ethiopia and €1 million for the cholera outbreak in Haiti.
Background
The European Union and its Member States are the world’s leading donor of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity with people in need all around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.
Through the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department, the European Union helps millions of victims of conflict and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the European Union provides assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.
