The EU is sending €5 million in emergency humanitarian aid and arranging a flight carrying around 50 tonnes of supplies to Venezuela after recent earthquakes.
The funding will focus on shelter and healthcare for people in the worst-affected communities, the European Commission announced on Monday.
A Humanitarian Air Bridge flight is due to leave from Copenhagen early this week, carrying shelter materials as well as water and sanitation equipment and education supplies.
The new package comes on top of €52 million the EU has already allocated this year to respond to humanitarian consequences of Venezuela’s socio-economic crisis.
Search-and-rescue support and satellite mapping
The Commission said it is coordinating offers through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism — a system used by participating countries to pool and send emergency assistance.
Offers have been received from 11 EU member states and one participating state, including search and rescue teams, medical teams and telecommunications support.
A group of 11 technical experts from Spain, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium and Estonia, alongside specialists from the Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre, arrived in Venezuela over the weekend to support operations, with a further team of experts provided by Italy.
In total, up to 14 EU countries have contributed so far with teams, equipment or technical expertise.
The EU’s Copernicus satellite service has also been activated for emergency mapping, producing 25 maps and 13 images covering 13 areas of interest.
