The European Commission has allocated €600 million of European Development Fundto finance immediate humanitarian food aid, food production and resilience of food systems in the most vulnerable countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP).
This will help partner countries and vulnerable people to cope with the unjust consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, notably the current food security crisis and related economic shock.
Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen stated: “The EU’s swift and comprehensive response to the current food insecurity in several vulnerable partner countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific area demonstrates our strong solidarity towards our partners, in particular in Africa. It helps shoulder the consequences felt worldwide of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. In the short-term we are helping families with food and nutrition assistance and helping countries to buy the food they need; as part of the Global Gateway strategy, we also work on solutions to address current and future risks by investing in local sustainable food systems to enhance resilience.”
Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič added: “The global food insecurity is our utmost concern. Data shows tens of millions more people are facing food shortages compared to an already difficult last year. The Russian invasion of Ukraine dramatically exacerbated the situation for the most vulnerable in the world, who are already facing the consequences of armed conflicts, the effects of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Just now, famine is knocking on the door in Somalia. The newly-allocated funds will help those in dire situations meet their emergency food needs. The EU remains committed to supporting the most vulnerable. However, humanitarian aid cannot substitute for efforts needed to increase the resilience of most vulnerable populations. Sustainable development-oriented solutions to end hunger are key.”
Allocation
The decision to swiftly redirect €600 million to food security in ACPs from de-committed funds from the 10th and 11th European Development Fund was announced by President Von der Leyen in June 2022, and the allocation received the green light from Member States in September.
As part of Team Europe’s Response to Global Food Insecurity, the funding will support people in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, where the humanitarian needs are the highest and where programmes to sustainably enhance food security and resilience were identified. More precisely, the funding will be allocated as follows:
• West and Central Africa: for food production and resilience €20 million for Cameroon, €10 million for Chad, €10 million for Ivory Coast, €10 million for Ghana, €12 million for Mauritania, €25 million for Niger, €15 million for Senegal, €10 million for Togo. For emergency food assistance €6.5 million for Burkina Faso, €6.5 million for Cameroon, €6 million for Central African Republic, €7.5 million for Chad, €6 million for Mali, €1 million for Mauritania, €6 million for Niger, €7.5 million for Nigeria, and €1.5 million for the region.
• Eastern Africa/Great Lakes: for food production and resilience €25 million for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), €10 million for Kenya, €10 million for Rwanda, €20 million for Somalia, and €10 million for Uganda. For emergency food assistance, €16 million for DRC, €2 million for Burundi refugee crisis, €2.5 million for Horn of Africa, €8 million for Ethiopia, €8 million for Somalia, €29 million for Sudan, €5.5 million for South Sudan.
• Southern Africa: €10 million for Madagascar, €15 million for Malawi, €15 million for Mozambique, and €20 million for Zambia. For emergency food assistance, €4 million for Madagascar, €8 million for Mozambique, €4 million for Zimbabwe, €0.5 million for Southern Africa region.
• Caribbean: €27 million for food production and resilience. For emergency food assistance, €6.5 million for Haiti, and €3 million for Caribbean countries such as the Dominican Republic.
• Pacific: €10 million for resilience and food systems.
A €50 million transversal component will ensure coordination between the different programmes and amplify their impact at the continental and regional level. This will be done by focusing on sustainable finance and investments for sustainable agriculture and agri-value chains.
A further €100 million component will provide macroeconomic support to African, Caribbean and Pacific Low-Income Countries by leveraging, via a contribution to the International Monetary Fund’s Poverty and Reduction Trust, concessional loans, thereby creating fiscal space to help these countries address the food crisis.
Background
The world is facing a global food crisis, aggravated by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The recently published mid-year update of the Global Report on Food Crises estimates that up to 205.1 million people currently face high levels of acute food insecurity in 45 countries covered by the Global Report on Food Crises 2022.
The Team Europe Response to Global Food Insecurity includes four strands of action to be implemented jointly with the Member States: 1. Solidarity: emergency relief and affordability; 2. Sustainable production and resilience; 3. Trade: facilitating food trade; 4. Effective multilateralism.
With the additional €600 million, the EU envisages allocating for food security and food systems programmes in partner countries €7.7 billion until 2024 worldwide. This also includes an estimated €2.2 billion in immediate humanitarian food and nutrition assistance for the most vulnerable countries and a further €5 billion to invest in the medium to longer term in sustainable food systems.
Source: European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations