The European Commission is today providing additional €12 million to meet growing humanitarian needs in Afghanistan, bringing total Commission humanitarian aid to €40 million to the country in 2015. The support comes amid a drastic intensification of the conflict, which increasingly affects urban centres with high population density.
"This new EU humanitarian support will help people directly affected by the escalation in violence. Afghanistan is back to a critical humanitarian crisis with the situation worsening over the past few weeks. The civilian population is paying a heavy toll in casualties and displacement." said Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.
In 2015, EU funded interventions have covered emergency medical care, food and drinking water, protection, shelter, sanitation, hygiene promotion, and livelihood support to people affected by conflict and natural disasters in general and to the displaced in particular.
The security situation in the country makes the delivery of aid and access to beneficiaries particularly difficult and dangerous.
The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) continues to facilitate access for humanitarian organisations to people in need through air transport services.
EU humanitarian aid is allocated strictly on the basis of the humanitarian principles of independence, impartiality and neutrality. In the last decade, the European Commission has provided more than €680 million to meet urgent needs among the Afghan population.
The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) has been present in Afghanistan since 1994.
