The Diplomat in Spain

Photo: Kevin.sebold, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org

The Diplomat. 23/07/2018

Spanish contribution to help the victims of Fuego volcano in Guatemala, which erupted on June 3 and affected more than 1.7 million people -including 117 dead, almost 200 missing and almost 13,000 evacuated-, has been raised to 210,000 euros.

«The performance of the AECID in Guatemala’s Fuego volcano tragedy has been characterized by its speed and efficiency, having been the first international donor to react», said the Executive last week in response to a parliamentary question from the Popular Group in the Congress.

According to the Government, the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID) donated, at first, basic shelter material, including cots and blankets, for an amount of 40,000 euros. Subsequently, the Agency contributed another 50,000 euros to the Reserve Fund for Disaster Relief (DREF) to increase the capacity of Guatemalan society in terms of health, psychosocial support and reinforcement of coordination in the field.

In addition, Spain activated two emergency agreements. One with the NGO Acción contra el Hambre (ACH), which received an amount of 70,000 euros to improve access to drinking water and provide adequate hygienic-sanitary conditions for the evacuated population, as well as to improve the nutritional situation of those affected by Fuego volcano.

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AECID donated 90,000 euros and two emergency agreements were activated with ACH and Oxfam Intermón

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The Government also activated a second agreement, with Oxfam Intermón, for a value of 50,000 euros, to guarantee the protection and livelihoods of the affected population and, especially, of the most vulnerable population, in particular, women and girls.

In addition, a team of United Firefighters Without Borders traveled to the country with an emergency task force, which included a water treatment plant, thanks to the airline Iberia.

According to the Government, the private sector has also carried out some actions. This is the case of chef José Andrés, who traveled to the affected area to participate in the elaboration of menus for displaced people, distributed by a Spanish NGO.