Austria Helps with 19 Million Euros Against Humanitarian Crises

Austria is helping against the humanitarian crises in Ukraine, Syria, and Libya with 19 million euros from the Foreign Disaster Fund. The government announced this in a statement on Wednesday. According to SPÖ Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler, this enables the International Red Cross, UNICEF, and the UNHCR to "continue their important work." According to NEOS Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, this creates "perspectives for the future."

ÖVP Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner sees an "important contribution to stability." Specifically, Austria is contributing through the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to the support of hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, as stated in the Foreign Ministry's announcement. With emergency shelters and essential basic supplies, acute suffering is alleviated, and it is contributed to ensuring that people can stay in their home region instead of embarking on dangerous escape routes.

Aid for children in Syria and support for Palestinians

The Austrian contribution to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) enables around 150,000 children in Syria to access educational opportunities, clean drinking water, and hygiene measures. Furthermore, Austria promotes the medical assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In total, Austria provides seven million euros to support the work of these international organizations.

Six million euros are allocated for aid to the Palestinian territories to the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the ICRC. With Austria's contribution, approximately 6,000 medical treatments can be carried out. Austria also provides a water purification system that ensures the supply of clean water to the field hospital, the government announced. Austria supports the IFRC, which coordinates the medical care of the Palestinian civilian population in neighboring states. Around 1,500 seriously ill or severely injured persons and their 2,500 relatives can thus be evacuated to Egypt and comprehensively cared for there for a year.

Financial support also for Libya and Ukraine

In Libya, Austria supports the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with one million euros. More than half a million refugees, mainly from Sudan, are currently in the country, overburdening the already fragile infrastructure. Austria also continues to help Ukraine. Austria supports with a total of five million euros the work of the UNHCR, UNICEF, and the ICRC in the country attacked by Russia. The funds are used, among other things, for the provision of protective measures, food supply, medical care, access to clean water and sanitary facilities, as well as emergency shelters for particularly vulnerable population groups.

(APA/Red)

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