BERLIN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Germany has offered Zambia 10 million U.S. dollars to help it tackle the influx of refugees, especially from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a senior Zambian official said Thursday.
The funds will be channeled through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), to mainly deal with water and sanitation challenges faced by refugees, said Anthony Mukwita, the Zambian ambassador to Germany.
The funds were announced when the Zambian envoy held a meeting with officials from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development who paid a courtesy call on him, according to a statement released by the Zambian Embassy.
The Zambian envoy said the funds will go a long way in alleviating the difficulties faced by the refugees, most of them women and children.
He spoke highly of Germany for responding positively to President Edgar Lungu's call for the international community to help Zambia deal with the refugee issue.
Heike Porksen, an official with the visiting German group, said the beneficiaries of the funds will not only be the refugees, but communities around refugee settlements.
The funds, she said, will be released before the end of the year.
