THE HAGUE - Residents of Curaçao can also count on the support of the Dutch cabinet in the coming months, as it was decided today on the recommendation of Undersecretary Raymond Knops of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Council of Ministers in the Netherlands. Aruba and Sint Maarten also receive food aid.

This involves 14.9 million euros in humanitarian aid for the three countries. This is guaranteed until at least April. In March, the Dutch cabinet will decide on further extension.

Undersecretary Knops: “In recent months I have visited the Red Cross in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. I have spoken with residents within our Kingdom who daily need the help of this organization to make ends meet. The cabinet has always indicated that it will not leave these most vulnerable people in the three countries on their own.”

The Dutch cabinet considers it very important that the vulnerable groups in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten are supported. In Curaçao, about fifteen percent of the population is currently dependent on food aid made possible by the Netherlands and about twenty percent of the population in Aruba and St. Maarten. It is currently assumed that the number of people in need of help will remain the same until the summer anyway.

Gift

These three countries within our kingdom have been hard hit humanitarian and economic by the corona crisis. The countries are highly dependent on tourism, but this sector is still very hard because of the COVID-19 virus.

This humanitarian aid is coordinated by the Red Cross. In the coming months, the countries will work towards a transition from the food aid program, whereby responsibility will shift from the Red Cross to the local government. Today's 14.9 million euros will be provided as a gift.