Flemish minister-president and foreign minister Geert Bourgeois has approved two aid packages for African regions. In the first package, the government is to give €248,000 to the charity Plan België to provide emergency help for 700,000 displaced people in South Sudan who are fleeing fighting between government and opposition forces.
The subsidy is aimed at protecting children living in the Awerial camp in the Lakes State region of South Sudan (pictured), who are at risk of violence and abuse. The aid will go toward providing a safe and supportive environment where the children can go to school.
A second aid package of €249,000 is going to the Flemish branch of the Red Cross to provide emergency aid in Burundi. The aim is to help refugees to resettle in Burundi following a ceasefire agreed in 2008.
About 500,000 people fled the country during civil wars in 1972 and 1993. Now that camps are closing down, refugees are being forced to return to Burundi, where they face problems finding homes and employment, Bourgeois said.