The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has announced a significant contribution of €16.1 million from the Netherlands to the aid fund for Afghanistan.
The announcement was made today, with OCHA expressing its gratitude for this substantial support via the social media platform X, according to the Afghan news agency Khama Press.
In a statement, OCHA thanked the Netherlands for its new donation of €15 million, which is approximately equivalent to $16.1 million USD, designated for the 2024 humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan.
The office highlighted that the Netherlands, as the third-largest donor, has provided over €89 million to Afghanistan since 2016.
Previously, the UK was noted to have contributed $7.8 million in aid to Afghanistan. However, OCHA also issued a warning that there remains an urgent need for additional funds.
The office estimated that $227 million is required to meet the country‘s current needs, but to date, only $14.6 million has been secured.
This stark funding gap underscores the ongoing challenges in addressing the humanitarian crisis in the region.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Roza Otunbayeva, said the country’s de facto rulers who have imposed their own interpretation of strict Islamic law have “delivered a period of stability not seen in decades” in Afghanistan, yet the population is at risk of a worsened humanitarian and development crisis as international funding declines.
“The de facto authorities are exacerbating this crisis by policies that focus insufficiently on the real needs of its people and undermine its economic potential,” Otunbayeva said.
She added: “There are no indications that significant additional resources will be provided as we approach the final quarter of the year.”
The lack of funding has contributed to the discontinuation of over 200 mobile and static healthcare services this year, and another 171 health facilities are set to close in the next few months.
