European Commission Approves Humanitarian Aid for Burmese

22 Dec (VOA) - The European Commission has allocated nearly 18 million dollars in humanitarian aid for people in need in Burma.

The money will also assist Burmese refugees along the Burma - Thai border. The commission says the money will aim at providing protection and addressing basic humanitarian needs in health, food aid, nutrition and water and sanitation for nearly 800 thousand people in Burma and more than 100,000 in the border area.

The E.U.'s aid commissioner Louis Michel says Burma has become a silent humanitarian crisis with many groups, notably ethnic minorities, living in extremely vulnerable situations.

Distribution of the funds will be monitored by the European Union 's aid department, ECHO.