EU Allocates €20 Mln in Humanitarian Aid for Egypt, Algeria, Libya

On Monday, the European Commission announced €20 million in humanitarian funding to be provided in Egypt, Algeria, and Libya. The funding will support the most vulnerable people affected by the region's political and protracted crises; the over four-decade-long Sahrawi refugee crisis in Algeria, the volatile Libyan crisis, and the refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt.

Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management said: ”The EU's assistance will help the most vulnerable people to meet their basic needs, as well as access protection and education, among other support.”

”Millions of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers but also internally displaced, returnees and host populations are in desperate need of humanitarian aid in North Africa. The last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the already dire conditions in the region”

“This includes the forgotten refugee crisis in Algeria, where close to 80% of the refugees remain dependent on humanitarian assistance for their minimum daily food intake. The EU’s assistance will help the most vulnerable people to meet their basic needs, as well as access protection and education,” Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management said.

Out of the €20 million funding: €9 million will support the Sahrawi refugees in Algeria with food, nutrition, and clean water. It will also help the most vulnerable access healthcare and education, €6 million will help extremely vulnerable people in Libya access healthcare, education, shelter, protection services and meet their basic needs while €5 million will help vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt access protection services and education, as well as help them meet their most basic needs.

In Algeria, the four-decade-long unresolved political conflict in Western Sahara has left tens of thousands of Sahrawi refugees dependent on humanitarian assistance. Since 1993, the EU provided €268 million in humanitarian support to the Sahrawi refugee situation which is considered a ‘forgotten crisis.

Since 2011, the European Union has allocated over €81 million in humanitarian aid to vulnerable people in Libya, responding to the most pressing needs in the country. Years of fighting – exacerbated by a shattered economy and COVID-19 – have exhausted people’s coping capacities.

In addition, the European Commission is providing €100 million in humanitarian assistance to support the rollout of vaccination campaigns in countries in Africa with critical humanitarian needs and fragile health systems.