The European Commission will provide €41 million in humanitarian aid to Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean in 2025, regions facing both natural disasters and conflicts.
Mozambique will receive €17 million to address the impact of tropical cyclones Chido, Dikeledi, and Jude, which hit the country in December 2024, January, and March 2025. In addition to this emergency aid, the EU has delivered 60 tonnes of assistance (shelter, household items, water, and sanitation supplies) from its warehouse in Nairobi in response to cyclone Chido.
€7 million will be allocated to Madagascar to facilitate access to food, emergency education, and nutritional services. €16 million will be used for regional and multi-country programs to keep children in school, strengthen protection against gender-based violence, and improve responses to epidemics.
The EU will also provide €1 million to support the response to the ongoing cholera outbreak in Angola.
Background
The Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region, comprising 14 countries with varying national capacities, is prone to natural hazards, disease outbreaks, and human-induced disasters due to armed conflict and violence.
In 2024, a prolonged El Niño-induced drought devastated crops in a region where 70% of the population depends on agriculture to survive. Over 30 million people across 14 countries face food insecurity, and six countries have declared a state of emergency due to the El Niño-induced drought: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Several countries have also been affected by cholera outbreaks.
The security situation remains unstable, with civilians bearing the brunt of armed violence in Mozambiques Cabo Delgado province. Mozambique is also prone to natural hazards, and this cyclone season has been particularly severe, with three tropical cyclones hitting the north of the country since December 2024, affecting over 1.4 million people.
Madagascar faces acute and chronic needs, including high levels of malnutrition, mortality, and disease, alongside high and prolonged poverty levels, food insecurity, and economic stagnation.
In addition to disaster preparedness, EU aid will support partners on the ground in providing life-saving assistance (food, protection, water, shelter, sanitation) to those affected by natural hazards and/or human-induced events.
For more information
EU Humanitarian Aid to the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean