The EU is providing €13.5 million in humanitarian funding to help communities in Eastern and Southern Africa prepare for severe weather linked to the 2026–2027 El Niño.
The money is earmarked for “anticipation and early action” in areas described as among the most vulnerable, with forecasts suggesting the coming El Niño could be the strongest on record, the European Commission said in a statement on Friday.
Somalia is set to receive €6 million for evacuation site preparedness, emergency cash assistance, and expanded health and nutrition services.
Kenya will get €1 million for disaster preparedness, cash assistance, shelter support, and health and nutrition activities.
Uganda is allocated €1 million to scale up the response to ongoing food insecurity.
A further €5.5 million will support early action and early response across Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean region.
‘Act before it strikes’
“We cannot stop El Niño from coming, but we can limit its devastating impact on people's lives,” Commissioner for Equality; Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said in a statement released by the Commission.
The EU also linked the announcement to COP31 — the UN climate summit due to start next week — where preparedness and resilience to climate change impacts are expected to feature among key issues.
