KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The government of Germany has allocated an additional €15 million ($16.4 million) in humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, bringing its total contribution to the impoverished country to over $83 million since last year.
In a statement released on Tuesday, March 26, the World Food Program (WFP) expressed gratitude for Germany’s latest funding. The funds, WFP says, will be used to enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities and support the organization’s school feeding initiatives, crucial for keeping girls and boys in primary schools.
According to the UN agency, this contribution will assist more than 150,000 food-insecure individuals, including women, by providing food assistance and education on hygiene, nutrition, gender, and social cohesion.
Moreover, the aid will enable WFP to extend its reach to almost 190,000 schoolgirls and boys in primary schools, providing them with nutritious school snacks produced in village bakeries. This initiative, according to WFP, indirectly generates employment opportunities and strengthens the local economy.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the humanitarian situation in the country has deteriorated significantly, making it one of the world’s most critical crises. Additionally, the country’s vulnerability to intense and recurring natural hazards, such as earthquakes, flooding, and landslides, persists due to its mountainous terrain and environmental degradation.
The UN reports that over half of Afghanistan’s population, totaling 23.7 million people, with 12.4 million being children, require humanitarian assistance this year. However, it emphasizes that it will not be able to assist all of them due to a lack of enough funding.
The U.N.-led humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan this year aims to raise $3.07 billion to aid 17.3 million people. However, as of March 25, only 7% of the required funding has been received.
Hsiao-Wei Lee, the WFP Country Director in Afghanistan, emphasized, “The impact of the climate crisis is massive in Afghanistan, battering communities with droughts, floods and other disasters and strengthening food systems is more important than ever.”
Katharina Spies, Head of Division at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), was quoted by WFP as saying, “Germany stands with the Afghan people, and we continue our engagement to help communities stand on their own feet.”
“Crisis management, Reconstruction and Transitional Development Assistance, investments into food-insecure communities and school children are investments into a prosperous future,” she added.
The UN agency says that Germany’s funding is a significant boost to the organization’s efforts to address humanitarian needs and build the resilience of people in Afghanistan. Germany, having provided $169 million in 2022 and more than $167 million in 2021, is among the top five donors for WFP in Afghanistan over the past three years.
