Spain will contribute 12.5 million euros in 2022 and another 4 million in 2023 under the commitment it maintains to humanitarian aid to Afghanistan through the Humanitarian Action Office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Spanish acronym AECID). These amounts include the 400,000-euro contribution made by AECID, along with the 11 regional governments that form part of the Humanitarian Action Agreement for decentralised cooperation.
This was announced by Jose Manuel Albares, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation at the Conference of Donors for Afghanistan, held in a virtual format and organised by the United Nations.
This increase, amounting to a total of 16.5 million euros, will have a regional impact, and is in addition to the 20 million euros in humanitarian aid committed by Spain in 2021, which helps support the work of UNICEF, UNFPA, the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR).
Spain completed its 20-million euro commitment in 2021, with the shipment of more than 2 million vaccine doses against COVID-19, valued at more than 13 million euros, to countries bordering Afghanistan for the refugee Afghan population.
Minister Albares took advantage of his participation at the Conference to underline the solidarity of the Spanish people with the Afghan people and to express the concern of the Government of Spain over the constant repression of the public freedoms of the Afghan people, particularly the “unacceptable discrimination” suffered by Afghan women and girls, with the latter being recently deprived of the right to an education by the Afghan authorities.
José Manuel Albares ended his speech by underlining Spain’s commitment to the Afghan people, particularly to ensure peace and well-being in the country.
The Conference also reflected on the significant support from the European Union to the region. Within the framework of the Team Europe Focus, the EU and its Member States will contribute more than 524 million euros in 2022 to Afghanistan and the regional crisis of displaced persons, making it the most committed donor to this crisis.
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