European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced almost €710 million in EU funding for displaced people and host communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, alongside emergency aid for people affected by crises worldwide.
The announcement was made in New York as the 81st UN General Assembly High-Level Week drew to a close, and was linked to Global Citizen’s 2026 campaign efforts, the Commission informed on Saturday.
The package includes €380 million in additional migration-related financing in 2026 for Sub-Saharan Africa, focused on measures including protection for vulnerable migrants, support for voluntary return and reintegration, stronger migration governance, and responses to forced displacement.
Of that, €240 million will go to the Migrant Protection, Return, and Reintegration programme for Sub-Saharan Africa, while €140 million will support work including migration management and services for displaced populations and host communities in Eastern Mauritania and Kenya.
A further €10 million “Crisis Response” measure will support efforts linked to peace and stability in the Great Lakes region, including work connecting local mediation led by women, youth and civil society groups with national and international peace processes.
An additional €7.5 million will be deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo to support the response to the Ebola crisis and to build longer-term health surveillance and preparedness capacity, including through the Institution Buisson Bernard and France’s National Research Institute for Sustainable Development.
Emergency aid and health projects
The package also includes €252 million from the Emergency Aid Reserve, subject to approval by the EU’s budgetary authority, to support people affected by conflicts, displacement, epidemics and natural disasters, the Commission said.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, €97 million is set to support responses to needs linked to conflict, food insecurity, malnutrition and climate shocks, and to reinforce the response to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries.
A further €103 million will support vulnerable people in Palestine and Lebanon, while €52 million is earmarked for humanitarian assistance and emergency preparedness in Ukraine, including winterisation, shelter, essential services and energy-related emergency support ahead of winter.
Separately, the Commission said it had announced three new Global Gateway investments during the week as part of its Global Health Resilience Initiative, including an EU guarantee intended to mobilise private investment in health and nutrition businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, an EU-backed European Investment Bank loan to expand vaccine and biological medicines production in Colombia, and €60 million in EU funding to strengthen primary health care in Ethiopia.
The Commission said it had allocated more than €2.53 billion for humanitarian aid since the start of the year, with the latest Emergency Aid Reserve funding still pending approval by the budgetary authority.
