The European Union Brings Relief to Populations Affected by Flooding and Landslides in Tanzania

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Following heavy rains associated with the El Niño phenomenon, which resulted in massive flooding and landslides in Tanzania, the European Union is providing TZS 276,974,500 (€100,000) in emergency humanitarian funding to assist the most affected households. The flooding and landslides have claimed many lives and destroyed thousands of homes.

This funding is in addition to an earlier allocation of TZS 276,974,500 (€100,000) 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 TZS 553,949,000 (€200 000).

The sustained heavy rains continue to make the situation worse for many affected households.

This new EU 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.

The Tanzania Red Cross Society (TRCS) will use this funding to provide tarpaulins and tents affected households, to set up emergency shelters. They will also distribute essential household items to those displaced and to 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 the 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 caused further destruction of homes, crops, 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.

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 €8 million humanitarian contribution agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the Federation’s Disaster Response 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 Response 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 €8 million.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Delegation of the European Union to the United Republic of Tanzania and the East African Community.

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