August 18, 2017 By Sahr Morris Jnr
Following the deadly mudslide and flooding that have caused hundreds of casualties in Sierra Leone and displaced around 1,100 households, the European Union has released an initial amount of emergency humanitarian assistance of €300,000 for the most vulnerable families affected by the disaster, a release from EU country office stated.
The EU has also activated its emergency Copernicus mapping system to provide damage assessment maps to help with the relief efforts and a Commission humanitarian expert is on his way to assess the needs on the ground.
EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides said the EU stands in full solidarity with Sierra Leone during these difficult times.
“My heart goes out to the people of Sierra Leone, a country I visited when it was on the frontline of the Ebola outbreak. Our new emergency funding will help provide essential supplies such as water, sanitation hygiene, food assistance, basic shelter and protection. The EU is doing all it can to help.” He said adding that overall EU assistance to Sierra Leone amounts to €376 million in long term development support from 2014-2020 adding that the EU together with Member States was also at the forefront of efforts to support the country during the Ebola outbreak.
“Total assistance of €2 billion over 2014-2016, was provided to the three countries affected by the crisis which included Sierra Leone, including €70 million of humanitarian assistance from the European Commission,” Stylianids stated.