The Commission has agreed to disburse 14.9 million Euro for food security in Niger, the worst affected country in the area. This decision follows the Commission's recent proposal to resume aid to Niger for 458 million Euro between 2008 and 2013. The aid provided will develop the humanitarian assistance in order to avoid another food crisis in the area.

Given the worsening food crisis in the Sahel region in general an Niger in particular, more than 7 million people in Niger are at risk and 3 million are in need of urgent food assistance. In this scenario, the almost 20 million Euro granted, come in addition to the humanitarian assistance  25 million Euro which has been allocated so far in 2010, via the Commission's Department for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO).

This new envelop of humanitarian relief assistance will help to cover important needs, including the purchase of sufficient volumes of staple food to cover the critical period until the next harvest, and are in addition to the latest proposal made by the Commission to mobilise extra 30 million Euro for the Sahel region.

However, the European Commission points out that it is essential that the government of Niger engages in improving governance and completing the democratic transition process. Fulfilment of the conditions in the roadmap agreed last month between the EU and Niger remains of critical importance. The Commission will continue to monitor the situation closely, supporting the transition to democracy, whilst at the same time helping vulnerable populations in critical situations such as this.

Under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) the Republic of Niger should benefit from a total of 458 million Euro between 2008 and 2013. Although this envelop only concerns food aid in the context of exceptional emergency situation, there are some other main priorities areas for longer-term cooperation under the 10th EDF for Niger which are support to good governance, development of transport infrastructure, and other operations which directly benefit the population.