EC To Aid
Drought-Stricken Guatemala
BRUSSELS (UPI) -- A drought-stricken
section of Guatemala will receive almost
us$2 million in emergency humanitarian aid
from the European Commission, officials say.
The EC's Humanitarian Aid department has set
aside the money to ensure some 20,000
residents have enough food, water and seeds.
The drought, caused by El Nino, has left
parched a corridor of Guatemala bordering El
Salvador and Honduras, an EC release said
Friday.
"Central America, especially Guatemala, has
been particularly hard hit by El Nino this
season," said Karel De Gucht, the EC
commissioner for development and
humanitarian aid. "Thanks to our presence in
Nicaragua, we have been able to quickly
appraise the situation in the region and to
rapidly intervene to assist the most
vulnerable."
In parts of Guatemala, the commission says,
70 percent of the harvest has been lost to
the drought.
The EC also is setting up food-for-work
programs and improving food and water
stocking systems. |
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