Sudan With the aim of promoting peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and the Movement/People’s Army for the Liberation of the Sudan, the European Commission has decided to allocate 1.5 million Euros to support the costs of the operation of the Peace Secretariat of IGAD, the Intergovernmental Authority for Development composed of Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, based in Nairobi. The European fund will contribute to the organization of peace talks in the next six months and to the “implementation of the international mechanism for the observation of the ceasefire” (to precede the planned international mission for the maintenance of peace). Zimbabwe – 15 million Euros have been allocated by the EU to supporting “vulnerable groups” in Zimbabwe. According to the European Commissioner for development Poul Nielson, the Executive’s decision to allocate this sum was dictated by the fact that “a dramatic deterioration in the living conditions of millions of Zimbabweans has been ascertained over the last few years”, caused by a “deterioration of the country’s political, economic and social situation”, in spite of the 40 million euros made available by the EU alone since 2001. To try to “stem” the grave crisis that is afflicting over 3 million people living in conditions of absolute poverty the Commission intends to use its cooperation in development funds to combat malnutrition, build irrigation and water purification infrastructures, modernise agriculture and combat AIDS and poor healthcare facilities in general. Chad – Ethiopia – Madagascar Last week the European Commission adopted three humanitarian aid programmes for Chad (4 million Euros), Ethiopia (1 million) and Madagascar (2 million). The funds, whose administration is assigned to the Union’s Humanitarian Office (ECHO), will finance projects for access to drinking water, healthcare installations and treatment, and food and nutritional support schemes in the bid to increase the life expectancy of populations that register the highest child mortality rates in the world.
