KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The European Union and Australia have announced more than $19 million in new assistance for Afghanistan, including funding for veterinary services, food security, and humanitarian relief, as the country faces a deepening humanitarian crisis.
The EU has allocated €11 million ($12.7 million) to strengthen veterinary services, improve animal health, enhance food security, and support climate-resilient livelihoods in Afghanistan, the EU delegation in Afghanistan said in a statement on X on Tuesday.
The funding was announced during the Afghanistan Veterinary Workforce Development Symposium in Kabul and is expected to benefit about 300,000 families across 17 provinces, according to the statement.
The assistance comes amid growing concerns over livestock diseases that have affected farmers and herders across Afghanistan in recent years. Drought, climate change, cross-border livestock movements, limited access to veterinary services, and declining vaccination coverage have been cited as factors contributing to the spread of animal diseases.
Separately, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Australia has contributed 9 million Australian dollars ($6.34 million) to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, a UN-managed funding mechanism.
In a statement posted on X, OCHA thanked Australia for the contribution, saying the funding would help sustain life-saving humanitarian assistance at a time of rising needs and limited resources.
The latest pledges come as Afghanistan continues to grapple with one of the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies, driven by economic decline, recurring natural disasters, declining foreign aid, and large-scale refugee returns.
According to the UN, 21.9 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian assistance in 2026, with 17.5 million targeted for aid. Women and children account for the majority of those in need.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has recently warned of a rapidly worsening child malnutrition crisis that has reached critical levels in 12 provinces. Nearly 3.7 million children and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year, according to the agency.
The UN has appealed for $1.71 billion to meet urgent needs, but the response remains severely underfunded. As of early June, only about $269 million — about 16% of the target — had been secured.
UN agencies and humanitarian organizations continue to urge sustained international support, warning that funding gaps are hampering the delivery of food, shelter and healthcare assistance to millions of vulnerable people across Afghanistan.
