Europe donates thousands to fight effects of drought in Nicaragua

The European Commission will donate €108,000 (about $155,000) to Nicaragua to help the Central American country cope with the impacts of a drought that last year struck much of the region, the commission´s Managua-based delegation said in a news release Monday.

The commission said its Euros aim to reach as many as 6,500 people in several towns in the departments (provinces) of Madriz, Nueva Segovia and Estlí, helping Nicaraguans whose livelihoods were delivered a blow by the El Niño weather phenomenon during what´s normally the rainiest time of the year. The commission expects the funds will help sustain farmers and farm workers for four months.

The Nicaraguan authorities have identified 25 towns that were severely affected and 73 more that were moderately affected by the rain shortage, according to the European delegation in Managua.