At the donor conference for Afghanistan, hosted by the UN, Germany, Britain and Qatar on Thursday 31 March in a virtual format, the European Commission announced €113 million in humanitarian aid from the EU for the Afghan people to meet urgent needs in Afghanistan and the region.
The UN launched an appeal for contributions of $4.4 billion (€3.9 billion, three times more than in 2021) for 2022, of which only 13% has been covered. It therefore urged the international community not to forget Afghanistan because of the war in Ukraine.
Twenty-four million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in this devastated country.
The EU’s emergency aid, channelled through its humanitarian partners, focuses on specialised medical care, food supplies, shelter, the protection of civilians and education projects for the Afghan people and Afghan refugees in neighbouring countries.
The €113 million includes the EU’s humanitarian airlift flights, financed up to €2 million, which will have delivered 490 metric tonnes of medical cargo, surgical equipment and nutritional support to Kabul by June (see EUROPE 12818/9), the European Commission said in a statement.
In terms of support to neighbouring countries, €11 million will be allocated to Iran and €7 million to Pakistan this year.
“Afghanistan continues to face one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Following the cold winter season, millions of women, men and children are struggling in the face of acute hunger. The EU stands in full solidarity and will continue its support to vulnerable Afghan refugees and host communities in Iran and Pakistan”, said the Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)