European Union grants 3 million euros for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan

The European Union has given Afghanistan’s humanitarian assistance three million euros, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA).

OCHA stated that the EU money will allow relief organisations to offer millions of people in need throughout Afghanistan with the protection and assistance they need, as reported by Khaama Press.

In order to address the ongoing situation, the European Union has supported Afghanistan throughout the year by sending multiple aid packages. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is still severe, with over half of the people in need of aid.

According to OCHA, $3 billion will be needed in the upcoming year to provide Afghanistan with sufficient help. In the beginning, OCHA asked for USD 4.6 billion to support Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs in 2023. But because it hasn’t received all the money, there remains a sizable financing gap for Afghanistan’s relief needs.

OCHA estimates that between May and November, 10 million people in Afghanistan were denied access to essential food aid because of the financing imbalance. The lack of money coincides with a dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan that is made worse by the country’s hard winter. Afghanistan’s precarious situation is made worse by the prospect of Afghan migrants being forcibly deported from Pakistan.

The vulnerable individuals in need are impacted by the financial deficit, which hinders the provision of vital assistance and services. The combination of the severe winter, the humanitarian situation, and the flood of resettling migrants results in a growing demand for more assistance and resources.

Over a million children in Afghanistan suffer from severe malnutrition, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), TOLO News in Afghanistan said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, estimates that Afghanistan would require USD 185 million to combat malnutrition. He stated that 30% of Afghanistan’s population suffers from severe food insecurity in a post on X.

He declared: “2.3 million children suffer from moderate acute malnutrition, and nearly a million are severely malnourished.” In order to keep helping hospitals and preventing additional Afghan women and children from dying from starvation and the effects of food insecurity, WHO needs to raise USD 185 million.

According to the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan, which was appointed by the Taliban, the number of undernourished women and children in the nation has somewhat grown from previous years.

(With agency inputs)