Austria Pledges $21Mln In Crisis Relief Funding For Afghans

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2021) Austria vowed on Wednesday to throw an 18 million euro ($21 million) lifeline to vulnerable people in Afghanistan, where a half of the population depends on humanitarian aid for survival.

"To deal with the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the region the government agreed... to unlock 18 million Euros [in aid] from the foreign ministry's Foreign Disaster Fund immediately and without red tape," a statement read.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Austria wanted to spend money in the region to avert another migrant flow to Europe.

His deputy, Werner Kogler, said this would the biggest disbursement since the disaster fund was set up in 2005.

The foreign ministry said 10 million euros would go to the UN refugee agency, 5 million to the UN Women agency for gender equality and 3 million to the UN World food Programme. Austria spent 11 million euros on humanitarian and development projects in Afghanistan over the past four years.