African Union Grants 150,000 US$ to support Victims of the October/November Floods that took place in Benin

26 December 2010
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African Union (Addis Ababa)
press release

An AU delegation led by the Ambassador of the Republic of Togo and Permanent Representative to the African Union, H.E Mrs. Virginie Amoko Kouvahe, will from 27-30 December, 2010, pay an official visit to the Republic of Benin to deliver the AU Commission's financial assistance for Beninois citizens affected by floods which left scores of people dead and thousands more displaced in October and November 2010. Ambassador Amoko Kouvahe is a member of the AU Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) sub Committee on Refugees Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs ).

In what the Commission described as a "symbolic gesture," Ambassador Amoko Kouvahe is expected to offer a contribution of $150,000 (One hundred & fifty thousand USD) during meetings with Beninois Authorities in Cotounou on behalf of the AUC. This Assistance by the AUC is in line with the Organisation's preoccupation to give humanitarian assistance to the victims of natural disasters in member States.

The African Union (AU) has set aside the sum of US $ 950,000, covering the period from January to December 2010 as contributions to assist Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in eleven AU member States affected by natural disasters and other catastrophes leading to the loss of human lives and property, including their homes and sources of livelihood.

It is worth noting that the floods that occurred few months back in Benin continue to affect the population across the country. With over one million people initially affected following the immediate aftermath of the floods, at least 200, thousand have lost their homes and have been forcibly displaced. They are currently seeking refuge in temporary shelters in Camps.

The total African Union grant of 950,000 US$ in support of the Refugees, Returnees and IDPs was distributed in 2010 in the following countries: Angola, Western Sahara, Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia, Cote d'Ivoire, Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Central African Republic, and Benin Republic.

At a policy level, it is worth recalling that the African union has adopted the first ever binding legal instrument, the AU Convention for the protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa in October 2009 in Kampala, Uganda. As of December 2010, 30 countries are signatory to the IDP Convention including three ratifications (Uganda, Sierra Leone and Chad).

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