€4 million in EU aid to tackle food insecurity in Central America

Met dank overgenomen van Directoraat-Generaal Europese Civiele Bescherming en Humanitaire Operaties (ECHO) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 19 februari 2015.

More than 2.5 million people in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua are reported to be facing severe or moderate food insecurity. The European Commission is providing €4 million in humanitarian aid to assist those in need.

Over the last three years, people in Central America have been affected by consecutive climatic shocks such as erratic rainfall and floods, as well as by the coffee rust plague. Millions of people have no reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food.

The prolonged dry spell that struck the region in 2014 has made the food insecurity situation even worse, and it has exhausted any remaining coping mechanisms of the most vulnerable people.

EU aid will provide the affected populations with the most appropriate food assistance - be it cash, vouchers or in kind. In case of significant increase in severe acute malnutrition among children under five years old, nutrition assistance will also be provided, including therapeutic and supplementary feeding.

The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) has been present in Central America since 1994. In these two decades it has provided close to €200 million in humanitarian aid to Central America and Mexico.