Controversy over EU F CFA 2 billion humanitarian aid to NW, SW

There has been a controversy over the F FA 2 billion envelope issued by the European Union to fight against famine and food insecurity in the North west and South west regions recently.

 It is reported that a separatist leader Mark Bareta was concerned that this funding could be diverted by the government to finance the war.

Questioned via social media, the EU Ambassador Philippe Van Damme noted that their humanitarian aid has never been channelled through the government.
“This is completely absurd. To ensure neutrality, our humanitarian aid has never been channelled through government channels,” he explained. He also highlighted that the aid is always in the form of donations:

“Our humanitarian aid is always in the form of donations, through humanitarian agencies, the United Nations, the Red Cross/Red Crescent, NGOs…and in the case of this aid, it is the World Food Programme, the European Union in Cameroon and the local Office for Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations”.

It should be recalled that on the 30th of December 2022, the European Union released a communiqué announcing that it was going to release a little more than 2 billion CFA francs to fight against food insecurity in the crisis regions of the North West, South West and Far North regions.
According to the organisation’s estimates, nearly 600,000 people are in need of emergency food aid in these regions.

Reports from the World Food Program reveal that food insecurity in these regions has been worsened by the six-year-old conflict which has triggered a serious humanitarian crisis and has forced about 580,000 people to be internally displaced.

Read also: EU issues F CFA2.771 billion to curb food insecurity in NW/SW regions