WRITTEN QUESTION P-1002/01

by Francisca Sauquillo Pérez del Arco (PSE) to the Commission

(21 March 2001)

Subject: Reconstruction work in El Salvador

The earthquakes which have hit El Salvador in recent months have caused the death of 1 127 people, injured a further 7 660, damaged 309 988 homes and left 1 497 556 people homeless. Although the Commission is aware of the need for further emergency and reconstruction aid, there is due cause for concern about the amount and provenance of the funds involved and the quality of the projects for which they are earmarked.

Does the Commission consider 8 million to be an adequate response to the emergency aid and reconstruction needs, or will it be releasing new funds specifically intended for earthquake aid, over and above those already earmarked for El Salvador as part of the Hurricane Mitch aid package?

Furthermore, given the additional risk that the temporary housing built under the emergency aid programme is not designed to withstand any further natural disasters, and in accordance with the findings of the assessment made by the El Salvador rapid reaction unit and the mission of rehabilitation and infrastructure experts, can ECHO undertake to provide funding for forms of emergency housing which can then be gradually upgraded to permanent accommodation?

At the same time, is ECHO aware that the temporary housing funded by European humanitarian aid is being used as permanent housing, with all the risks which this entails?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(24 April 2001)

The Commission took an initial decision on an emergency contribution of 2 million followed by a second decision to grant 8 million. Depending on how the situation develops, the Community's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) may supplement its emergency aid. Other Commission departments may contribute under the heading of post-emergency rehabilitation. For development assistance purposes, the Commission implements projects targeted at the reconstruction of infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. The Member of the Commission responsible for development assistance visited El Salvador from 25 to 30 March.

The proposed temporary shelters are made of materials which can generally be reused for the building of permanent housing. At the same time, training and technical assistance activities are being set up in order to support and encourage the population's efforts to rebuild permanent housing. All these operations form part of a more wide-ranging strategy, including improved access to primary health care, psychosocial support, access to water and basic sanitation.

ECHO is aware that the temporary accommodation may end up being used as permanent housing. The extent of requirements in this sector makes technical decisions and the choice of beneficiaries extremely complex, especially as, unfortunately, the most vulnerable sections of the population live in high-risk areas or do not always have access to land. The main objective of ECHO in this six-month intervention is to cover the beneficiary population's basic requirements. Despite the extent of the disaster, we have witnessed in the field these people's dynamism and ability to cope and ECHO is taking care to allocate humanitarian aid in such a way as to avoid undermining this very dynamism.