EU provides additional €500,000 in humanitarian aid to Dominica

Bridgetown, WL Ares (2017) 25 October 2017

The European Union is providing an additional €500,000 (EC$1,600,000) in humanitarian aid to Dominica, following the severe destruction caused by Hurricane María on 18 September 2017, via the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

María, a category 5 hurricane, hit Dominica leaving more than 70,000 people in need of urgent relief.

"We aim to increase our support to families who are displaced and living in collective centres or with host families since the hurricane, and are in need of shelter, food and water," said Androulla Kaminara, ECHO's Director of Operations for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The additional aid will provide immediate shelter and household material for 5,000 vulnerable families in Dominica. Shelter kits, as well as housing repair materials, training and technical support will be provided to the most vulnerable whose homes have been damaged.

Daniela Tramacere, EU Ambassador to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States said" ''The EU has been committed since the very beginning to support Dominica after the tragedy. We are now committed to further assist Dominica in early recovery and reconstruction".

This additional humanitarian aid complements an initial grant of €250,000 (EC$800,000), which was allocated in September to alleviate the affected population's most urgent needs (basic kits for survival, clean water and food, shelter material and fuel, as well as logistical support to reach isolated communities).

 

Since 1999, the European Commission has provided € 2,919,216 in humanitarian aid to Dominica, including emergency relief after Tropical Storm Erika severely damaged the island in August 2015, leaving 30 people dead.