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EU Allocates €200,000 in Humanitarian Aid Following Ethiopia Earthquake

11.02.2025
Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
Press and information team of the Delegation to ETHIOPIA

11 February 2025- In response to the recent earthquake in Ethiopia, the European Union has allocated €200,000 in humanitarian aid to help address the urgent needs of the most affected communities in the Main Ethiopian Rift, including the Afar, Amhara and Oromia regions.

Since October 2024, the Main Ethiopian Rift has been impacted by seismic activity, including a significant earthquake centred around the Fentale volcanic complex. Over 50 earthquakes, including a 5.8 magnitude tremor on January 4th, have caused severe damage to homes, infrastructure and services. The EU funding will bolster the efforts of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) in delivering much-needed relief including multipurpose cash, clean water, shelter, healthcare, sanitation and emergency referrals.                                                                     

This four-month project, scheduled until the end of May 2025, is expected to benefit 10,000 people in the three worst affected regions. The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). 

Since the beginning of 2025, the Afar, Amhara and Oromia regions have been hit by multiple earthquakes and tremors, affecting over 99,000 people and forcing many into informal internally displaced person (IDP) sites. The earthquakes have caused significant damage to critical infrastructure, including homes, schools, health centres, roads and farmland.

Widening fissures on several major routes has also raised fears over the Kesem/Sabure dam. Any failure to the dam could result in catastrophic flooding downstream, potentially threatening hundreds of thousands of lives. Furthermore, damage to the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway threatens regional connectivity. Additionally, these earthquakes have also sparked fears of potential volcanic eruptions, as they are occurring near two active volcanoes, Fentale and Dofen.

Background

The European Union together with its Member States is the world's leading donor of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity towards people in need around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and human-made crises.

Through its European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department, the European Union helps millions of victims of conflicts and disasters every year. Headquartered in Brussels and with a global network of field offices, the EU assists to the most vulnerable people, based on humanitarian needs.

The European Commission has signed a €14.5 million humanitarian contribution agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF). Funds from the DREF are mainly allocated to “small-scale” disasters – those that do not give rise to a formal international appeal.

The Disaster Relief Emergency Fund was established in 1979 and is supported by contributions from donors. Each time a National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society needs immediate financial support to respond to a disaster, it can request funds from the DREF. For small-scale disasters, the IFRC allocates grants from the Fund, which can then be replenished by the donors. The contribution agreement between the IFRC and ECHO enables the latter to replenish the DREF for agreed operations (that fit in with its humanitarian mandate) up to a total of €10 million.

For further information, please contact:

Peter Biro, Regional Information Officer for the Great Lakes, East & Southern Africa, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO): [email protected].