Two devastating earthquakes in Nepal have left millions of survivors in dire need of food assistance. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, has already reached almost two million people but there is much more that must be done.
More than 2.5 billion adults lack access to formal financial services. But technology’s potential for financial inclusion and improving livelihoods is being heralded, particularly as mobile-phone use grows.
In an interview with EURACTIV's Georgi Gotev, Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid & Crisis Management, said that more regional cooperation is needed in West Africa in the fight against ebola.
In his confirmation hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, Cypriot Commissioner-designate for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christostos Stylianides said on that “investing in resilience is more effective than crisis response”. Stylianides showed his ambition to work with High Representative Federica Mogherini to address the root causes of conflicts.
'Unhappily they [rebels] came and there are a lot of people who are dead. They came and stripped us of all our resources, our goods and all that we had. They attacked our children, our young people, and they exterminated them.' said Julienne Yasso, victim of the Central African Republic armed conflict. Julienne Yasso is only one of the thousands of civilians affected by a wave of killings and widespread looting in the Central African Republic, where a sectarian armed conflict erupted almost a year ago.
The European Commission announced on Sunday an additional €7million euros in emergency aid for the Philippines, after typhoon Haiyan caused massive destruction across the country earlier this month. With almost 4000 people dead and up to 13 millions affected, EU officials have said that the typhoon was likely to be the biggest humanitarian aid challenge this year, together with the Syrian civil war. The extra financial help brings to €20 million the Commission's assistance to the Philippines.
