WRITTEN QUESTION E-0852/00

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(21 March 2000)

Subject: Mozambique

It is now many days since disaster struck Mozambique. A million people are suffering the effects of the extremely serious flooding caused by heavy rains: some have died, others are missing and damage to property is widespread. However, neither the European Union nor its Member States have taken the action which is so urgently required in order to lessen the damage caused, to care for the sick, to feed the hungry and to prevent further loss of human life.

What is the reason for the EU's negligence and what action is the Commission to take in order to correct without delay the unacceptable behaviour which it has displayed in Mozambique and in other countries?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(28 April 2000)

From the very outset of the crisis in Mozambique, the Commission and Member States have given the government their support, both in cash and in kind. Each and every Member State has given generously to the government of Mozambique's initial appeal, providing food aid, helicopters and transport planes, personnel, medicines, drinking water, tents and blankets, as well as funding via the United Nations (UN) such as the World food programme. The donor tracking system of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) confirms that the Community has provided the lion's share of the international community's response to the Mozambique crisis, estimated at some 120 million in the initial rescue and relief phases alone.

The Commission, whilst not geared to participate directly in the search and rescue efforts, responded immediately through its Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), whose partners were operational on the ground from the first wave of localised flooding in early February. The member of the Commission in charge of development cooperation and the Portuguese Presidency visited Mozambique within days of the second wave of flooding caused by cyclone Eline to assess the damage at first hand, and a senior ECHO specialist was deployed in Maputo to co-ordinate the Commission's relief and resettlement intervention strategy with the government, the UN, the delegation and Member States' missions on the spot.

In financial terms, the Commission made 1 million available to provide emergency assistance to the victims of the first wave of flooding in Mozambique and Botswana. It also responded swiftly to the subsequent flooding wrought by Cyclone Eline by announcing another 2 million for emergency relief, to provide support to those who had been driven from their homes, while 1,4 million, locally available to the Commission's delegate and the government of Mozambique, was offered with a view to improving food security for the victims.

A further sum of 5,58 million has since been earmarked for relief and resettlement operations, with the prime objectives of providing shelter, water, sanitation and health care to 100 000 people displaced by the flooding in the worst-affected provinces, while facilitating their rapid resettlement through the provision of seeds and tools to ensure a second harvest, and small-scale rehabilitation of essential health infrastructure. The intervention of the Commission and its partners in Mozambique is expected to continue for at least six months, while a flood relief intervention is also planned in Madagascar as a result of the needs assessment missions conducted concurrently throughout the region.

To address the medium-term needs for rehabilitation of the afflicted areas, the member of the Commission, during his mission to Mozambique on 2-3 March 2000, announced an initial amount of 21 million in additional funds. This sum could well be increased as the needs for reconstruction and rehabilitation become clear.

Finally, in order to maintain the rapid growth achieved by Mozambique in recent years, the increasing level of co-operation envisaged before the disaster will be maintained. This will result in disbursements estimated at 150 million this year, as compared to an estimated 100 million in 1999.

This raft of interventions shows that the actions of the Member States and of the Commission in support of the Government of Mozambique have been generous, rapid and responsible. Indeed, mid-March figures from the UN (OCHA) in Maputo put the international contributions at 115 million, of which the Member States and the Community had pledged 85 million, almost 74 % of the total figure.

The Commission, via its delegation in Maputo, and the Member States continue to be actively involved in the Government-led donor co-ordination mechanisms on the spot. These donor co-ordination groups are closely following the needs assessments exercises currently being carried out and, in the light of the results, the Commission will decide on future action to be taken.