Aid Package for Afghanistan Approved by Austrian Federal Government

PeopleDiplomats ♦ Published: September 9, 2021; 12:38 ♦ (Vindobona)

The Austrian Federal Government has officially approved 18 million euros in emergency aid for Afghanistan that it had previously promised. The aid will go from the Austrian Foreign Ministry's Foreign Disaster Fund (AKF) to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN Women, and the UN World Food Program.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz: "The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan was already extremely difficult before the Taliban took power and has now deteriorated significantly. We can and want to provide support in this difficult situation." / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O'Donald (U.S. Armed Forces), Public domain

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), almost half of the Afghan population, over 18 million people, are dependent on humanitarian aid due to the conflicts in the country that have been going on for decades. Nearly three million Afghans are displaced in their own country, and another 2.5 million have fled abroad. The takeover by the Taliban has intensified these developments and is having a destabilizing effect on the entire region. …