Saturday, May 20, 2006
Xinhua
The European Commission (EC) has decided to provide 70 million euros (89 million U.S. dollars) for Somalia’s transitional authority, said the commission on Friday.
This package put emphasis on peace, security and good governance, said the executive body of the European Union (EU).
It would help to make basic social services available to the poorest and most vulnerable people and would strengthen food security, the EC said.
Somalia is one of the poorest nations in the world, with 43.2 percent of the population living on less than 1 dollar a day and an infant mortality rate estimated at a catastrophic 22 percent.
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.
Following a National Reconciliation Conference, transitional federal institutions were formed in January 2005, comprising the transitional federal government and the transitional federal parliament.
“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,” said Louis Michel, the European commissioner for development and humanitarian aid.
Michel will travel to the war-torn country next month, the first visit by a European commissioner in 10 years.
He said the transitional government and parliament in Somalia remain the only option for peace and stability.
The aid package, called the Somalia Recovery Program, will provide immediate support to address Somalia’s governance and security challenges, including consolidation of the transitional federal institutions, support for the delivery of social services, in particular of education, water and sanitation as well as rural development, and food security.
Source: Xinhua, May 20, 2006
