FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Following exceptionally El Niño-related high temperatures in Lesotho, which resulted in a severe drought and parched crop fields, the European Union is providing €200,000 (approx. LSL 4,030,000) in humanitarian funding to assist the most vulnerable and affected families.

This EU funding will support the Lesotho Red Cross Society in delivering much needed assistance to over 2,500 families across four of the hardest hit districts, namely Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Qacha's Nek and Quthing.

The Lesotho Red Cross Society will use part of this funding to distribute cash grants to 2,500 vulnerable families, in a bid to alleviate the impact of soaring food prices. The Society will also buy and distribute agricultural inputs and seeds, like maize and beans, for planting in the summer. The EU funding will also support the training of community-based farmer groups on food preservation and climate-smart agriculture.

The funding will also be used for the rehabilitation and/or construction of water facilities within affected communities. The Lesotho Red Cross society will run an awareness campaign to educate communities on water treatment techniques as well as on effective water management practices.

This funding 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.

In two consecutive seasons - 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 - Lesotho experienced harsh climate-induced shocks, including hailstorms, pests and heavy rainfall in most parts of the country.  The heavy rainfall experienced in late December 2023 and early 2024 led to waterlogged fields which resulted in crop failure. It was followed by exceptionally high temperatures between January and March 2024, leading to widespread crop failure and exacerbating the crop failures from the previous two seasons. The cumulative impact of these shocks led to increased food prices, with about 41% of rural families spending more than half of their income on food. Eight out of ten districts in Lesotho are under a crisis state of food security, meaning that families here have difficulty finding food.

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.