Theresa May announces £30m package to ease migrant crisis

  • Brexit

Britain will help countries in Asia and Latin America to take in refugees in Europe, Theresa May has announced.

The move is part of a £30 million package announced by the prime minister at an EU summit in Malta, which will bring UK humanitarian support regarding the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean to more than £100 million.

The cash will go towards measures to protect vulnerable migrants from freezing conditions and the threat of people-trafficking and sexual violence.

It will also encourage them to return home rather than continue to embark on dangerous journeys to Europe.

UK money will help countries like Egypt, Greece, and the Balkan states to provide for refugees who have reached their territory from places like Syria, and to integrate newcomers into local communities.

And Britain is ready to offer support for countries in Asia and Latin America which need migrants but do not have the required infrastructure in place to receive them.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said migration challenges cannot be ignored. Credit: AP

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: "Global Britain is stepping up its support for the most vulnerable refugees who are at risk and need our help.

"Conflict, drought and political upheaval have fuelled protracted crises and driven mass migration. We cannot ignore these challenges.

"This latest support from the UK will help those who decide they want to return home to do so safely, protect men, women and children from exploitation, and ensure that those caught in freezing conditions get the basic help they need to survive."

The new funding will help provide:

  • Some 22,400 relief items like winter clothes, tents, blankets, and baby products

  • Protection for over 60,000 vulnerable refugees and migrants through medical care, legal support, and training of frontline workers to identify and prevent violence and trafficking

  • Help to reunite up to 22,000 people with family members

  • Urgent heath care for more than 1,500 refugees in Egypt suffering from malnutrition, exposure, dehydration and other life-threatening conditions

  • Grants for 1,000 migrant students to enrol in Egyptian schools

  • Improvements to living conditions in migrant camps and detention centres

  • Funding for a migrant centre in Sudan to provide emergency assistance and enable voluntary returns home