SARAJEVO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) has allocated additional 500,000 euros (569,233 U.S. dollars) to assist Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in migration, the website of the Delegation of the EU to BiH stated on Thursday.
"Our humanitarian aid will provide food, water, emergency shelter, sanitation, health care, and warm clothing," Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, was quoted as saying.
The assistance will be allocated to reception centers located in the area around capital Sarajevo and in cities of Bihac and Velika Kladusa, some 300 kilometers northwest of Sarajevo, very close to Croatian border where migrants attempt to cross on their way to EU member states.
The special emphasis of the aid is put on the protection of migrants and their families in the upcoming winter period when shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure needs to be upgraded to meet winter conditions.
In May 2018, BiH's Council of Ministers officially requested EU assistance, after which 7.2 million euros (8.19 million U.S. dollars) were allocated, providing adequate accommodation for the country's migration and border management, asylum, border control and surveillance capacities.
Migrants turned to BiH in recent months, trying to avoid more heavily-guarded routes and borders in the Balkans. Some 20,000 migrants have entered BiH since the beginning of this year until Nov. 4, mainly from Pakistan, Iran and Syria. it is estimated that some 4,000 are currently in need of humanitarian assistance.
"This additional funding brings EU humanitarian assistance in the western Balkans to 31 million euros (35.2 million U.S. dollars) since the start of the refugee crisis in 2015," the website stated.
