Dar es Salaam. The European Union (EU) has released Sh276.9 million, or EUR100,000 in emergency humanitarian funding to assist the most affected households of El Niño-induced floods, which have wreaked havoc in various parts of Tanzania.
A statement released Wednesday stated that the funding is in addition to an earlier allocation of Sh276.9 million, or EUR100,000, to the Tanzania Red Cross Society in December 2023, which the EU contributed in response to flooding.
This brings the total EU contribution to the Tanzania flooding response to Sh553,949,000, or EUR200,000. The sustained heavy rains continue to worsen the situation for many affected households.
The funding will support the Tanzania Red Cross Society in delivering urgently needed assistance to scale up lifesaving and emergency relief to the most vulnerable, especially the people whose homes have been destroyed, and those who have been displaced.
READ MORE: El Niño-induced Heavy Rains Leave 155 People Dead in Tanzania
The Tanzania Red Cross Society (TRCS) will use this funding to provide tarpaulins and tents to affected households to set up emergency shelters. They will also distribute essential household items to those displaced and camp-based populations.
The Red Cross Society will also provide cash assistance to the most affected and vulnerable populations, conduct search and rescue operations, offer first aid, and evacuate the critically ill or injured. Finally, this assistance will also be used to purchase and distribute water treatment chemicals to minimise the risk of waterborne diseases.
This additional funding will allow the TRCS to step up its support and assist 85 000 people in several parts of Tanzania, including Morogoro, Mbeya, Kilimanjaro, Unguja, Geita, Dar es Salaam, Manyara, and Pwani.
This allocation is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC.
Since November 2023, Tanzania has been experiencing heavy rains caused by the El Niño phenomenon. The rains continued into 2024, bringing landslides and floods, which further destroyed homes, crops, and agricultural assets and affected over 200,000 people.
In December 2023, a massive landslide near Mount Hanang in the Manyara region of northern Tanzania affected nearly 44,000 people and resulted in 89 deaths. In addition, Cyclone Hidaya made landfall on 4 May 2024, bringing strong winds and heavy rains to the coast south of Dar es Salaam.
The already-affected areas of Dar es Salaam, Pwani and Morogoro experienced heavy rainfall, exacerbating an already dire situation.
