EU gives Afghanistan $15.8m to mitigate climate impacts

KABUL (Pajhwok): The European Union (EU) has contributed €15 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to build Afghan communities’ resilience and mitigate climate crisis impacts.

“The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a €15 million (US$15.8 million) contribution from the European Union (EU) for its activities in Afghanistan,” the bloc said in a statement.

This latest contribution will help local communities prepare for natural hazards and face the devastating effects of climate change, and support farmers for more productive and sustainable agriculture.

So far this year, more than 160,000 people were affected by flooding alone, destroying nearly 20,000 homes, and thousands of hectares of agricultural land, it added.

“The European Union is committed to assisting the people of Afghanistan in adapting to climate change, which is severely threatening food security and livelihoods notably of rural communities.”

Climate-related shocks also exacerbate host communities’ capacity to support internally displaced people and returnees from neighboring countries, and they discourage farmers in poppy-cultivating areas from sustainably shifting to licit crops.

This latest contribution increases the European Union’s steady support to WFP’s resilience programme in Afghanistan to a total EUR 85.1 million since 2022”, said EU Chargée d’Affaires a.i. in Afghanistan, Veronika Boskovic Pohar.

sa/ma