Somalia has secured a share of €17.2 million from the European Union, through the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), to support its response to Covid-19.
This was made known by the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, who said that the additional funds will be directed towards supporting vulnerable people and strengthening health systems in the Horn of Africa.
Development Diaries gathered that Somalia, which has seen 56 fatalities among its 1,421 confirmed Covid-19 cases, faces a potential cholera outbreak following recent floods.
Aid organisations, according to reports, say the flooding along the Shabelle River has forced 412,000 people from their homes, adding to the risk of spreading Covid-19 and other diseases.
‘These additional €17.2 million will support in particular internally displaced persons, refugees, and their host communities in Somalia’, Radio Dalsan quoted Urpilainen as saying.
‘They will help provide protective equipment for frontline health workers in South Sudan and strengthen the Sudanese health system’, Urpilainen added.
The World Bank has also approved US$137.5 million for Somalia to help the nation address its multiple crises.
The funds are meant to meet the basic needs of refugees and internally displaced people in the country.
Source: Radio Dalsan
Photo source: International Labour Organisation
