EC gives Somalia 70 mln euros to fight poverty

The European Commission said on Friday it has provided 70 million euros for Somalia to help the fledgling government in its recovery program.

In a statement, the EC said the funds will put emphasis on peace, security and good governance.

It will help to make basic social services available to the poorest and most vulnerable people and will reduce food insecurity, it said.

"The EU has never abandoned the Somali people in the past 15 years and this decision demonstrates the commitment of the EU to ensure Somalia's recovery and reconstruction," European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel Commissioner Michel said in a statement.

"The transitional institutions remain the only option for peace and stability and I intend to foster linkages with them, when visiting Somalia next month, with a group of European Parliamentarians," said Michel.

The EC said the decision was already anticipated by its president Jose Manuel Barroso on March 28, when he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali Ghedi for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.

"This signature is intended to be a strong political act of support to the transitional institutions," the EC said.

The EC said the Somalia Recovery Program will provide immediate support to address Somalia's governance and security challenges, including consolidation of the Transitional Federal Institutions, support to delivery of social services particularly education, water and sanitation as well as rural development and food security.

The program will be implemented in close cooperation with several key partners, including the UN, NGOs and other donors. Commissioner Michel also announced his visit to Somalia in mid June, the first one by a European Commissioner in a decade.

Somalia is one of the poorest nations in the world, with 43.2 percent of the population living on less than a dollar a day and an infant mortality rate estimated at a catastrophic 22 percent.

Now, for the first time in 15 years, Somalia has the beginnings of a governance framework, though the political situation remains fragile.

Somalia has not had a functioning central government since the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, which ushered in 15 years of conflict between rival clans and factions.

Source: Xinhua