The European Union (EU) has announced a grant of 3.4 million euros (3.7 million U.S. dollars) to reinforce a disaster risk management project in Angola's southern provinces hit by severe drought, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The project launched Friday, in Huila province, is promoted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and will also cover Namibe and Cunene provinces in the same region.
Speaking at the presentation of the project, EU representative Danilo Barbeiro underlined the importance of the project which aims to support the Angolan institutions responsible for disaster risk management.
On the occasion, the head of UNDP-Angola Crisis Prevention and Resilience Program, Keita Sugimoto, also said the project will help communities strengthen their technical capacities to adequately address potential risks and natural disasters.
He recalled that from 2012 to 2016, about 1.2 million people were affected by drought in six southern provinces of the country that caused economic losses of about 750 million U.S. dollars.
Currently, more than 500,000 people in Angola face food insecurity due to the severe drought hitting the provinces in the south.