Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocates 31 million euros to support Ukraine in the largest package of emergency humanitarian aid ever

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation will allocate a total of 31 million euros in humanitarian aid, of which 23 million will go to Ukraine and another 8 million to other countries in the region through a broad raft of measures by way of emergency humanitarian response.

 

The historical allocation of Spanish Cooperation, channelled through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Spanish acronym: AECID), is in response to the call made by the United Nations and other international bodies, to an extraordinary call for humanitarian action subsidies for NGOs, and for the creation of an emergency hospital to ultimately be deployed in cross-border countries.

 

Following the first shipment of more than 20 tonnes of medication, equipment and health material on 2 March to Poland, a new convoy will set off in the next few days with 30 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Moldova, and a second shipment to Ukraine with medication and health material in coordination with the Ministry of Health for a sum of almost 1 million euros. More direct aid is scheduled according to the needs that arise in Ukraine and in its weakest neighbouring countries.

 

Contributions will also be made to international bodies like OCHA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for 25 million euros to cater for the internally displaced and refugee population, in response to the calls made by these bodies. In addition, 1 million euros will be allocated to the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) to cover different emergencies, with special attention to vulnerable people.

 

This ambitious humanitarian action plan also provides support for Spanish NGOs with a 3-million euro reserve to undertake an extraordinary call for subsidies for humanitarian action projects on the ground.

 

Furthermore, at the request of the signatory Autonomous Regions of the “Agreement between decentralised cooperation and the AECID for a joint and coordinated response through humanitarian actions”, contributions were agreed to be charged to the contingency fund provided for in this agreement.

 

Given the magnitude of the military operation, it is calculated that at least 12 million people will require humanitarian assistance in the next few weeks. The priority sectors that Spanish humanitarian aid will focus on are health, food security and nutrition, water and sanitation, and protection and shelter. Action will also be taken on education, livelihoods and logistics work, coordination and communication.

 

Given the high number of offers of aid from Spanish society, AECID has set up a specific microsite on its webpage with useful information to channel aid received from private individuals, companies and institutions so that it arrives and is employed usefully. Links of interest, recommendations from internat​ional organisations and direct contact with NGDOs will be updated in real time on the following link: Microsite AECID ¿Cómo puedo ayudar a Ucrania?